Zootopia 2: From Russia with Love
by Eamon Gallagher
Summary: One year after the Night Howler Incident, a new social issue makes its way into the minds of the citizens of Zootopia: interspecies relationships, Judy Hopps being a central figure in favor of such relationships. But with a rise in predator organized crime syndicates, her relationship with Nick is put to the test while also having to face a new foe: the Vory v Zakone.
1. Chapter 1

Zootopia 2: From Russia with Love

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Zootopia. The movie and its characters belong to Disney. For entertainment purposes only._

 _Disclaimer #2: This story is based on the two-part episode, "Refuge" from the TV show, Law & Order._

Judy Hopps had just finished her stage play for the Carrot Days Talent Show that she and two of her classmates had put on, briefly explaining the history of predator and prey. Judy herself played the role of prey, fitting the role perfectly being a wide-eyed, innocent bunny of eight years old with big bright purple eyes and a bright friendly smile. She would certainly gain the affections of anyone who saw her as the meek and helpless little prey, which she did. However, she had made her parents more than a little concerned when she announced her desire to become a police officer for the Zootopia Police Department. The two of them has never heard of a bunny police officer before and were convinced that no bunny could become one. The physical demands alone seemed to automatically disqualify them. The two concerned parents walked out of the barn where the play took place, each one holding one of their daughter's hands. Judy walked between her parents, her black-tipped ears drooping down behind her, bouncing as she skipped. She still wore her police officer costume as she exited the barn to the rest of the Carrot Days fair.

"Judy," said Judy's father, Stu Hopps, "have you ever wondered how your mom and me got to be so darn happy?"

"Nope," Judy replied innocently, her big purple eyes wandering.

"Well, we gave up on our dreams and we settled," Stu said, "right, Bon?"

"Oh, yes. That's right, Stu," said Judy's mother, Bonnie. "We settled hard."

"See, that's the beauty of complacency, Jude. I-If you never try anything new, you'll never fail," Stu said.

"I like trying, actually," Judy said, releasing herself from her parents hold and skipping up on top of a row of haystacks, skipping alongside them.

"What your father means bun-bun is that it's gonna be difficult, impossible even, for you to become a police officer," Bonnie said.

"Right, there's never been a bunny cop," Stu said.

"No."

"Bunnies don't do that."

"Never!"

"Never!"

Judy's expression dropped for a moment as she heard her parents and let out a brief, "Oh."

However her optimism quickly returned as she said, "Then, I guess I'll have to be the first one, because I am gonna make the world a better place!" she did an enthusiastic back flip off of one of the carts as she made her proud declaration, her police officer hat going slightly askew as she landed.

Judy's father laughed nervously, trying to think of a quick rebuttal.

"Or, uh, heck!" Stu said. "You know, you wanna talk about making the world a better place? No better way to do it than becoming a carrot farmer."

"Yes!" Bonnie replied enthusiastically. "Your dad, me, you two hundred and seventy-five brothers and sisters. We're changing the world one carrot at a time."

"Amen to that," Stu said.

Judy looked at her parents with a confused look on her face, not comprehending why they were going on about being a carrot farmer. It didn't take very long before Judy's attention was drawn to her friends and her little sister being followed by the local fox bully, Gideon Grey, and his weasel friend, Travis. Not bothering to sit through her parents' carrot farming speech and determined to live up to her dream of being a police officer, she followed them, leaving her parents to continue their carrot farming monologue.

She spotted Gideon out at the edge of the fair, next to the corn rows.

"Gimme yer tickets right now," Gideon said to one of Judy's friends, a black-wooled lamb named Sharla, "or I'm gonna kick yer meek little sheep butt," pushing her as he said the last word.

"Oww! Cut it out, Gideon!" Sharla said.

"Baa! Baa!" Gideon mocked as he swiped away the lamb's tickets. "What're you gonna do, cry?"

"Hey!" Gideon turned to see Judy authoritatively striding up in her police outfit. "You heard her! Cut it out, Gideon!"

"Nice costume, loser," Gideon laughed. "What crazy world are you livin' in where you think a bunny can be a cop?"

"Kindly return my friends' tickets," Judy ordered confidently, holding out her hand.

"Come and get 'em," Gideon replied, thumping his chest in defiance, "but watch out, 'cause I'm a fox, and like you said in yer dumb little stage play, us predators used to eat prey! And that killer instinct's still in our denna."

"Um, I'm pretty sure it's pronounced DNA," said Gideon's weasel friend.

"Don't tell me what I know, Travis!" Gideon said, slapping him away.

"You don't scare me, Gideon," Judy said, taking a step toward him.

Immediately, Gideon shoved Judy back with full force, knocking her several feet and landing on her back. Her friends and sister screamed and quickly ran behind a tree.

"Scared now?" Gideon mocked.

"Look at her nose twitch," Travis laughed. "She _is_ scared."

"Cry, little baby bunny," Gideon said, bending down over Judy. "Cryyy. Cr-"

He was cut off when Judy gave him a forceful kick in the face with both feet, knocking him back a several steps. Judy's friends and sister gasped at Judy's audacious action while Gideon sensed the iron taste of blood coming from his nose.

"Aw, you dunno when ta quit, do ya?" Gideon said.

Judy flinched in fear as Gideon brandished his claws. She reeled back in pain as Gideon brought his claws down in a quick swipe across her cheek, causing her friends to scream as they saw the attack and leaving three red marks on her face. After a moment, she brought her hand up to her cheek, feeling small amounts of blood leaking out from the scratches. As soon as Judy realized what had happened, her face was pinned down by the fox.

"I want you to remember this moment," Gideon growled, "the next time you think you will ever be anythin' more than just a stupid carrot-farmin' dumb bunny!"

After his speech, he released Judy and walked off with Travis, the two of them high-fiving each other as they left. As soon as they were gone, the trio of young prey ran up to Judy, still lying on the ground.

"That looks bad," said Gareth, Sharla's with-wooled brother.

"Are you okay, Judy?" asked Sharla.

"Yeah," Judy replied weakly. "Here you go."

"Wow!" Sharla shouted as Judy held up three strands of tickets. "You got our tickets!"

"You're awesome, Judy," Gareth said.

"Yeah! That Gideon Grey doesn't know what he's talkin' about!"

"Well," Judy said, standing up and brushing herself off, "he was right about one thing." Judy picked up her police officer's hat and placed it back on her head and sternly declaring "I _don't_ know when to quit."

"Well, you better not quit, Judy!" Sharla said. "You're gonna be the first bunny cop and show up that dumb Gideon real good! You're gonna be the best!"

"We're all rooting for you, Judy!" Gareth said.

Judy couldn't help but smile at her friends' encouragement, especially considering all she had heard from her parents was a pitch to become a carrot farmer. After that and having been clawed across the face, those few words of encouragement felt so uplifting. At least she knew her friends were on her side and that they would support her. With a big smile, Judy wrapped her friends in a big group hug, her little sister being caught in the middle.

As the group hugged, Judy felt her left cheek sting as the group hug pressed against the scratches left by Gideon Grey. She released herself from the group and held her cheek, warm blood trickling out and onto her paw, staining her fur.

"Are you sure you're okay, Judy?" Sharla asked.

"Yeah," Judy said, her voice wavering slightly. "I'll be fine. You guys go have fun."

"Aren't you coming?" Gareth asked.

"I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Well," Sharla said, "okay. We'll see you later then. Hope your scratches get better."

Sharla and Gareth both waved goodbye as they went back to the fair, leaving Judy with her sister. As soon as they were gone, Judy let a few tears escape, the result of both the pain from the scratches and the demoralizing speech from Gideon as he held her head to the ground.

"Judy," said Judy's little sister, Sherri, "are you okay? You want me to go get mom and dad?"

"No. No, I'll be okay," Judy said, sitting down on a haystack and taking in a deep breath to try to try to hold back the tears, holding her paw up to scratches on her cheek in order to try to stop the bleeding. But when her paw made contact the stinging flared up again, causing even more tears. Sherri hopped up on the haystack next to Judy, her big sister slowly leaking tears.

"Does your cheek hurt?" Sherri asked innocently. Judy nodded and gave a half smile to the naive question, though she continued to cry.

"You sure you don't want me to go get mom and dad?" Sherri asked again.

"No, Sherri," Judy sniffed. "I'll be fine. I'm sure. Why don't you go have some fun? I'll catch up with you."

"Ok. I hope you feel better soon." Sherri gave her big sister a tight hug before skipping off to rejoin her friends, leaving Judy alone on the haystack. She sat there trying her hardest to stop crying, but the dam had been broken and there was no stopping it. At best she could only try to keep herself from crying any harder. As she sat, tears slowly trickling down her cheek, the salt stinging her scratches, she began to quietly tell herself, "I'm not just a dumb bunny…I'm not a dumb bunny…I'm not…" Finally, the first whimper that began a full sob escaped her lips.

Sherri reentered the fair, her mind still on her big sister sitting alone on the haystack. She wished she could do something to cheer her up, but there wasn't much a bunny of her age could do to remedy her sister's condition. She knew bringing the parents in wasn't a good idea right now. Even at age six, she knew that this wasn't the time to bring the parents in, considering how extremely they might react. Sherri still wanted to do something to rectify the situation with her big sister. It was rare to see her so upset, especially in tears, given her virtually perpetual upbeat attitude.

As she wandered through the fair, looking for Sharla and Gareth, she heard a friendly voice behind her.

"Hey there, Sherri!" said the voice. It belonged to a young male, about twelve or thirteen by the pitch of his voice. Sherri turned around to see a young male border collie, dressed in light blue button up shirt tucked into a pair of jeans.

"Hi, Scott," Sherri replied happily. Prescott Collier was a close friend of the Hopps children, having been introduced to them at a young age. The Colliers were relatively new to Bunnyburrow, having moved there from Zootopia when Scott was only a few years old. The Hopps family helped them to get settled in and get more acquainted with the area in their first few years. Scott had a coat of black fur that began to turn white around his muzzle and down his neck and chest. He stood just shy of three feet, towering over the little six-year-old bunny. His tone when greeting the young bunny was bright and friendly and he gave her a warm smile.

"Now, call me old fashioned, but I don't think little six-year-old bunnies are allowed to go running around by themselves," Scott said, bending down to make level eye contact with Sherri, a playful grin on his face.

"I'm not that little!" Sherri laughed.

Scott straightened up and stood next to Sherri, using his hand to measure the little bunny's height. She measured to just above his waist.

"Mmm, looks like you're still little," Scott said. Suddenly, Sherri shot her ears up straight and stiff.

"Ears don't count, Sherri. I told you," Scott said, causing Sherri to groan in frustration. He laughed at the little girl's reaction and responded by tousling the fur on her head. "So what are you doing alone? Aren't you supposed to be with your friends or your big sister?"

"Well," Sherri said, "I'm trying to find my friends and Judy is over by the cornfield. She got scratched on her face."

"Ouch, how'd that happen?" Scott asked.

"Gideon Grey was being mean to us and Judy tried to stop him, so he scratched her across the cheek."

Scott's face took on a look of genuine concern as he heard the name Gideon Grey. He knew that the fox wasn't exactly known for his friendly nature or charming demeanor. And Scott did remember his heckling of Judy during her play.

"Why'd he do that?" Scott asked.

"Gideon tried to steal our tickets," Sherri said, "and Judy tried to get them back for us. Gideon pushed her down and she kicked him in the face."

A slight smirk crept across Scotts face as he thought about how much he would love to have seen that.

"After that, Gideon scratched her," Sherri said. "Judy was still bleeding when I left."

"Where did Gideon go, Sherri? Do you remember?" Scott asked.

Sherri thought for a second and said, "I think he went off somewhere into the cornfield. Are you gonna go get him, Scott?"

"Something like that."

After several minutes, Judy had run out of tears and her whimpering had died down, though it still continued to a small degree and she still felt the draining effects of her melancholy state. She had grown used to the stinging in her cheek and the blood had dried on her fur and hide. She brought her paw up to the scratches and gently rubbed the fur around it, feeling some of the dry blood flaking off. She knew she'd have to tell her parents what had happened and that it certainly wouldn't help with their support of her dream of becoming a police officer, not that they were very enthusiastic about it already. Still, this wouldn't help. If a ten-year-old fox from Bunnyburrow could do that, what could the criminals of Zootopia do to her?

As she sat on her haystack, trying to think of some story to rehearse for her parents, she heard the sound of her red-furred assailant.

"Ow, take yer stupid paws off of me! Quit draggin' me!" Gideon shouted.

Judy looked up to see both Gideon and Travis being steered by the collars of their shirts by the thirteen-year-old black and white border collie who she knew as Scott Collier. While Gideon was struggling to break free of Scott's grip, Travis had a look on his face that shouted, 'We are so busted!' Scott brought the two of them to a halt right in front of Judy.

"Apologize!" Scott growled at Gideon. The fat fox remained silent as he shot glares at both Scott and Judy. Scott jerked him forward by his shirt and repeated, "Apologize!"

"I dunno what yer talkin' 'bout," Gideon said.

"Really?" Scott said sarcastically. "Well maybe your friend knows what I'm talking about." Scott turned to the weasel he had seized in his left hand. "What happened, Travis? How did Judy get those scratches?"

"We were over here trying to get those sheep's tickets and Judy told us to give 'em back. Gideon pushed her and then scratched her across the face," Travis said, explaining the situation quickly, hardly a pause between words.

"Shut up, Travis!" Gideon shouted.

"He pushed her down and told her to quit her stupid ideas of being a cop. I'm sorry, Judy. That was stupid and wrong and we shouldn't have done it."

"Remember now?" Scott snarled at Gideon. He released his grip on Travis and said, "Get out of here." Travis quickly scurried away.

"Now, like I said, apologize!" Scott growled at Gideon.

"Why should I apologize?" Gideon said. "She's the one with the stupid idea that she can be a bunny cop!"

Scott quickly took a hold of Gideon's ear and twisted it sharply, causing the fox to yelp in pain, buckle at the knees, and drop to the ground.

"Apologize right now," Scott commanded, "or your dad is going to hear about this!"

A look of fear flashed through Gideon's eyes as he heard Scott's threat to turn him in to his father. He knew his dad wouldn't take his son picking on a little girl bunny very lightly.

"Ha! Yer big threat is to tell my dad on me?" Gideon said, hoping Scott wouldn't call his bluff. "That's the wimpiest trick in the book!"

"And it works every time!" Scott said. "So apologize right now, er yer daddy gives you a butt-whippin'!"

Gideon shot a vehement look at Scott, his temper flaring when he heard his impersonation. Scott only tightened his grip on Gideon's collar and intensified his glare. Gideon let out a grudging grunt and said, "I'm sorry Judy. I shouldn't have hurt ya and I'll never do it again. So am I done here?"

Scott released his grip from Gideon and said, "Get out of here and don't cause any more trouble."

Gideon ran away, turning back only once to shoot a glare at Scott and Judy before running off back to the fair. Scott returned his attention to the young bunny sitting on the haystack. He quickly took notice of the scratches across her cheek and the blood that had clotted on her fur.

"Yikes, that looks pretty bad," Scott said.

Judy nodded silently. "I think the bleeding stopped though," she said. "It still hurts."

Scott reached into his pocket and produced a small package of bandages, offering it to Judy.

"You need me to help you put these on?" Scott asked.

"N-no," Judy replied. "I can do it myself." She took the package from Scott. "Where did you get these?"

"Your sister told me what happened and my folks always carry a few bandages in the car," Scott said.

Judy applied three bandages to her cheek, using the stinging as her guide as to where to place them. As she finished, she heard Scott let out a quick chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Judy asked.

"I think you're gonna need to fix those bandages when you get home," Scott replied. The bandages were applied at all different angles, some overlapping each other. Judy rubbed her paw over her left cheek and could feel where the scratches were still exposed. Even she laughed at her less-than-perfect medical work.

"Well, it's not like I could see where I was putting them," Judy said

"I guess so," Scott laughed. "Why don't we go get your parents and they can help you patch up those scratches?"

"No!" Judy said, a bit more loudly than she had intended. "No. I-I'll be ok."

Scott cocked his head at her, confused as to why she was so reluctant to seek her parents help.

"You sure?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," Judy replied weakly. "I'll be okay."

Judy returned her gaze to the ground and took in a stuttered breath, her lip quivering as she exhaled. Scott stared at Judy, a look of concern on his face as she continued to cast her gaze at the dirt in front of her. After a while, he took a seat next to the eight-year-old bunny on the haystack.

"Judy," Scott said softly, "what's going on?"

Judy let out a melancholy sigh. "Mom and dad…I don't think they want me to be a police officer," Judy said. "After my play…they started telling me that they wanted me to be a carrot farmer."

"You're serious?" Scott asked incredulously.

Judy nodded her head quickly. "My mom told me that it was going to be impossible for a bunny to be a police officer…and after what Gideon did…what are they gonna say? They'll never let me be a cop after this. Mom will get really worried and Dad will tell me that it's too dangerous."

Scott saw how low Judy felt as she spoke. She couldn't even bring herself to look up at him, but instead just kept staring at that imaginary point in the dirt. He certainly understood where she was coming from though. He remembered how when he and his family had first moved to Bunnyburrow how wary Stu was around them, since they were dogs. To him, any animal with canine teeth could be seen as a predator. And in Zootopia, many criminals were full-fledged predators. It would be near impossible to convince him that his little bunny daughter could face up to them in a fight. And while Bonnie was a bit more open-minded than Stu, she was still very protective of her children. Often times, she made sure that Judy and her siblings were in her sight or at least in a group of friends. For her daughter to go out to a huge city like Zootopia and take on such a difficult job, her mom would definitely be worried for her daughter's safety. And Judy was right. This little incident with Gideon wouldn't help the situation much.

Scott put on a warm smile and placed a paw on Judy's shoulder.

"Well, Judy, your folks were right about one thing," Scott said. "It's gonna be pretty difficult for a bunny to be a cop. Cops in Zootopia need to be ready to take on the big criminals and a little bunny is gonna have a tough time doing that."

Judy turned her head slightly toward Scott, still looking at the ground, not very thrilled at what he was saying to her.

"But," Scott continued, "on the other hand, you just stood up to Gideon Grey and won. Think about that for a second. A little eight-year-old bunny beat a ten-year-old fox. Now how many bunnies can say they did that?"

Judy finally brought her eyes up to look at Scott, who had a friendly smile on his face.

"Not only that, but you beat out an idiot who was telling you that you couldn't be a cop," Scott said. "So what does that say about the determination of Judy Hopps, huh?"

Judy felt a spark of confidence reenter her and begin to grow.

"Now, it's true that you're gonna run into a lot of people who are gonna tell you that it'll be impossible, and a lot of people who are gonna doubt you. But you can't let them get to you. I don't think anyone would ever accomplish anything if they just gave up after the first bit of criticism. Whenever someone doubts you, that's where you come in. It's up to you to show them that you have what it takes. It's up to you to prove them wrong."

Judy smiled at her friend, feeling that confidence welling up in her again.

"And if it makes you feel any better," Scott said, "you're not alone. I'm gonna be going into law too."

Judy's eyes widened in excitement. "You're gonna be a police officer too?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Well, not exactly," Scott replied. "I'm gonna be a lawyer. So, you catch 'em, I convict 'em."

"That's so cool!" Judy said. "Maybe we can be a team in Zootopia!"

"Maybe," Scott said. "But that depends on if you're willing to put in that effort."

Scott stood up from the haystack, bringing Judy to her feet as he did and stood her up straight and tall, molding her like a piece of clay into the position of attention.

"You've got to tell me, Judy Hopps, if you think you've got what it takes to be a cop. That every person that doubts you, that you've got what it takes to prove them wrong."

Judy stood up straight and stern, looking Scott right in the eye, a proud smile on her face.

"I've got what it takes!" she proclaimed. "Just like I told my friends, I don't know when to quit!"

 _15 Years Later_

Mid afternoon and Judy Hopps sat in her bunk, papers strewn out in front of her, her mind burnt out from the amount of work she had finished, as well as the stress that resulted from surveying the work she still had to complete. Her time at the Zootopia Police Academy was starting to wane, with just two weeks left before graduation and the pressure was starting to build again.

When she entered the Academy, at the age of 23, just a few days after her birthday, she was met by a lot of doubt from virtually everyone around her. And perhaps it was warranted. During the beginning of her time as a cadet, she struggled frequently with the physical training that was tailored to prepare cadets for the demands of being a Zootopia police officer. Every time she met with failure, she felt her confidence drop, and it didn't help that each failure was accompanied by her instructor's shout of "You're dead!" It was enough that she knew that she had slipped up. She didn't need her superior to rub salt in the wound. Every time she fell short, she could hear the echoes of her childhood in her mind.

"… _It's going to be difficult, impossible even…"_

" _There's never been a bunny cop…"_

" _Bunnies don't do that…"_

" _Never!"_

"… _remember this moment the next time you think you will ever be anythin' more than just a stupid, carrot-farmin' dumb bunny!"_

Over the weeks, it began to wear on her mentality and her confidence. Each time her past echoed to her, she felt her passion begin to burn out and her drive begin to die. One night as she lay in her bunk, she began to ask herself, 'Am I really cut out for this?' She didn't want to go back to Bunnyburrow to become a carrot farmer, but the struggle was becoming harder and harder every day. On one restless night, she got up for a midnight run, determined to try to drown the voices of her past out, but as she ran harder, it seemed like they only grew louder, which caused her to run even faster. Finally she stopped, her small, rabbit lungs struggling for air. At least the pain seemed to finally put an end to the voices. But as she sat on the side of the dirt path she was on, another voice from the back of her mind began to speak up.

"No, not again," Judy whispered to herself. "Just shut up! Go away!"

But as the voice grew louder, she heard something she didn't expect.

"… _a lot of people who are gonna doubt you. But you can't let them get to you."_

Judy's breath began to level out as she recalled who this voice belonged to. She remembered that day, sitting on the haystack, a paw gently resting on her left shoulder.

" _I don't think anyone would ever accomplish anything if they just gave up after the first bit of criticism."_

As she began to catch her breath, she closed her eyes, letting the memory come into focus. As it did, she saw the face of a young border collie, a friendly smile on his face.

" _It's up to you to show them that you have what it takes. It's up to you to prove them wrong."_

Judy opened her eyes, stood herself up and continued running. As she ran, she began repeating the words in her mind, _"Prove them wrong…prove them wrong…"_ repeating them until the voice changed from that of a thirteen-year-old border collie to her own voice. With each repetition, she felt her confidence and drive building, adrenaline filling her veins, and her speed increasing. She knew she could turn things around. She had to.

After that night, her performance in the academy improved dramatically, rising through the class ranks to reach first in her class. Her field performance, according to the instructors, was the best they had ever seen in their careers. Judy finally felt that she was capable of being the best she could be.

However, as her time in the academy was drawing close to an end, she found herself struggling again, as she found that she had neglected another important aspect of being a police officer: the academics. She was by no means incompetent when it came to the letter of the law, but it wasn't the easiest for her. She had spent so much time focusing on proving that she was capable of overcoming the physical limitations that she hadn't taken both elements of law enforcement into account. Now, with this assignment she had in front of her and only two weeks left before the end of training, she was beginning to regret her negligence. The assignment presented the cadets with a series of situations they might encounter on the job and they were to respond to each situation. However, the greater majority of these situations focused on some of the more complex matters of the law and Judy wasn't even sure exactly how she was supposed to respond. In her mind, some of these questions could only be answered by the district attorney.

At that thought, the gears in her mind finally clicked together and began to spin. Who was it that had given her the mantra that had gotten her through physical training? The same border collie that was now back in Zootopia after having graduated law school four years earlier. Judy pulled out her iCarrot phone and pulled up her contacts list, searching for Prescott Collier. Before leaving for the academy, Scott's parents had given her his number, telling her that he would enjoy hearing from an old friend, if Judy ever found the time.

She scrolled down through the list before coming across his number, but before she could press it she stopped herself. Scott had told her years ago that it was up to her to prove herself, so what did it say about her ability for her to call for help from the district attorney for a cadet's assignment? If the other cadets could do it, was it right for her to get help from a legal expert? What would Scott think of her as well? Judy mulled the idea over in her head, tossing the phone aside as she did. But then, something else clicked in her mind. When no one else had supported her in her ambitions, not even her parents, it was Scott who had been there to support her. It was Scott who came and sat next to her on the haystack after being clawed by Gideon Grey. Scott who had helped her in whatever training she could do as a little girl to prepare her for the academy. Scott who had taken time out of his school work to be there to help and support her, even while he was in high school. Even after he had started dating. He had become the big brother she never had. If he was there for her then, there was no reason to think we wouldn't be there for her now.

Taking in a quick deep breath, she went to her contacts and called Scott Collier. She listened to the phone ring for a few seconds before she was met by a female voice. She recognized it as the voice of Scott's high school sweetheart and now wife.

" _Hello?"_

"Hi, Gail?" Judy said.

" _Yes, who's this?"_

"Hi, Gail! This is Judy. Judy Hopps."

" _Oh wow! Judy! Hi! It's so good to hear from you! It's been so long! How've you been? I heard you got into the police academy!"_

"Yeah, I did! It's been really good. Tough, but good!"

" _I'm glad to hear that."_

"So anyway, I was wondering if I could talk to Scott. Is he there?"

" _Oh yeah, absolutely. He'll be happy to hear from you, I'm sure. Let me get him for you."_

Judy heard Gail take the phone away from her ear and walk through the house. A few seconds later she faintly heard Gail talking to Scott.

" _Scott, Judy's on the phone. She wants to talk to you."_

" _Judy?"_

" _Judy Hopps. From Bunnyburrow?"_

"… _Oh, oh of course! Yeah hand me the phone!"_

Judy heard Gail pass the phone on before a male voice, close to thirty years old, came across the speaker.

" _Hey, Judy! It's Scott. It's good to hear from you again!"_

"Hey, Scott! It's good to hear from you too."

" _So how's life at the police academy treating you? Hopefully not too harsh."_

"It's going good. It's been challenging, but nothing I can't handle. How's life as a district attorney been?"

Scott chuckled over the phone. _"Well, I'm actually not the district attorney. I'm the Executive Assistant D.A. The D.A. position is gonna take a few more years to get. But it's going good. Very rewarding."_

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm still not all that familiar with your chain of command, I guess."

Scott laughed again. _"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_

"Well, I was kinda hoping that you could give me a bit of help in this assignment I've got, if that's alright with you. I don't want to interrupt anything you might be doing."

" _No, no it's fine. I'd be happy to help. So what's the assignment?"_

"Well, we've been given a list of situations we might encounter in the field and we have to respond to each one. The thing is, they're kinda hard for me since they're covering a lot of more complex issues of the law."

" _Okay, so how are you supposed to respond?"_

"That's another thing. I'm not entirely sure about that either. Maybe if I read one off we could figure it out?"

" _Sure thing. What's the first one?"_

"Okay so the first one says, 'A detective is investigating a murder case and his investigation leads him to a hotel where one of the suspects is staying. He enters the hotel and heads for the hotel room where the suspect is staying. Upon his arrival, he finds that the hotel room is locked. However, he is granted entry by the hotel's bellboy, who has a key for the room. Upon entering the room, the detective finds a wiretap. Upon listening to the recording on the wiretap, he discovers a conversation that directly implicates the suspect in the murder. Respond to the situation.'"

" _Hold on a minute. Let me write this down…So, murder case…hotel room…let in by bellboy…finds wiretap…"_

Judy stayed in the line, listening to Scott mutter to himself as he analyzed the situation. After about a few seconds, he spoke up again.

" _Okay, so I think I get how you're supposed to respond. So, there are two major problems I can see with this situation. You might want to take notes for this."_

"Okay, hold on a sec." Judy quickly grabbed a stack of lined paper and the carrot pen that she had brought with her and readied herself. "I'm good. Go ahead."

" _Alright, so the first problem with this situation is that the wiretap that the detective obtains is illegal. Under federal law, wiretaps are inadmissible as evidence in court, unless they're placed under the express direction of the court itself. As such, anything found on the wiretap couldn't be used as evidence in a criminal proceeding. You with me so far?"_

"Uh-huh, just give me a second to write everything down."

Judy wrote everything as quick as she could, trying to keep it somewhat legible.

"Okay, got the first problem down. What's the second problem with the situation?"

" _So, the second, even bigger problem here is that the detective obtains the wiretap illegally. Now, I noticed – and you should write this down – that it doesn't say whether or not the suspect is in the room, but that actually doesn't matter. The detective wasn't let into the room by the occupant. He was let in by the hotel's bellboy, upon which he discovers the wiretap. The reason this is a problem is that hotel rooms are protected as if they were private residences. The bellboy doesn't have the right to let anyone into that room without near certainty that a crime is taking place in that room at that very moment. So, without probable cause, the detective would need a search warrant in order to get in. If he doesn't have one, his entry into the room is illegal and anything he finds in the room would simply be tossed out of the case. Now, this is what's known as the 'Exclusionary Rule,' which is an extension of the people's Fourth Amendment right against unlawful searches and seizures. In short it states that anything obtained through illegal means cannot be presented as evidence in a criminal case."_

"Okay let me get this all down…Now you said this was called the 'Exclusionary Rule' right?"

" _Yeah."_

"Got it." Judy continued scribbling notes as quickly as she could, making sure they were coherent enough to transcribe into complete sentences. "Okay, I think it got everything."

" _Excellent!"_

"Want me to read off the second one?"

" _By all means!"_

From the tone in his voice, Judy could tell Scott was wearing one of his signature friendly smiles that he gave her so often, causing her to smile in response. It was certainly good to hear from her old friend again, and it felt even better to have him be there for her again.

"So number two. 'In relation to the first situation, the detective discovers a conversation on the wiretap taken from the suspect's hotel room. In the conversation, the detective discovers the name of a possible hit-mammal from the Rainforest District. The detective orders a search warrant for suspected hitter's home and a gun with the same size bullet used in the murder is found in his possession. Respond to the situation.'"

" _Alright, so here's what I want to do for this one. I want you and me to examine the situation together from different points of view. Uh, I'm gonna go ahead and put you on speaker phone. Is that alright?"_

"Mmhmm, that's fine."

Judy heard Scott take the phone away from his ear and set it on what she assumed was his desk before hearing his voice return, sounding a bit more echo-y than before.

" _Can you hear me?"_

"Yep. You're coming in clear."

" _Excellent. So first let's look at the detective's actions in searching the suspected hit-mammal's home. What's one of the things you notice in this little detail?"_

Judy looked back over the situation as it was spelled out in the assignment, trying to analyze the situation as best she could.

"Well, this time, the detective was able to secure a search warrant, which would suggest that he has enough evidence to obtain one."

" _Right, but now, what exactly is the problem in that situation?"_

Judy looked over the assignment again and looked back to her notes from the previous exercise, quickly finding the answer.

"The wiretap is inadmissible as evidence, so the conversation found on it couldn't be used to secure the search warrant, right?"

" _Exactly! The wiretap is inadmissible as evidence in a criminal case, so it would also be inadmissible as evidence in an investigation. The minute the detective presents that wiretap to the judge, he would have it tossed out. But now, I have a question for you. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that it wasn't known that the conversation was obtained through a wiretap and the detective manages to secure a search warrant from the court. Is the evidence obtained from the search admissible in court?"_

Judy thought about the situation, reviewing her notes for anything that might provide the answer, but again, she was unsure.

"…Um, I'm gonna say that since a warrant was issued, then yes it is admissible."

" _No, it's not."_

"Really?"

" _This is an extension of the exclusionary rule called 'the fruit of the poisonous tree.' Basically what it says is that if any evidence gathered through illegal means leads to the discovery of subsequent evidence, the exclusionary rule still applies and the evidence gathered from the subsequent search, even if the search itself is legal, can't be presented as evidence in court."_

"And I'm guessing that since the detective lied about the source of the evidence from the wiretap, he would be charged with obstruction of justice, wouldn't he?"

" _Very good! You're a fast learner! Yes, he would be charged with felony obstruction, specifically the subcategory of 'misleading conduct.'"_

"Geez, this is a lot. I forgot just how complex this can get."

" _Well, it took me seven years to master."_

Judy laughed at Scott's comment, thankful that she didn't have to endure that much schooling and equally impressed that Scott was able to succeed at such a feat.

The two continued to plow through Judy's assignment together, Judy picking up on the details fast. Of course, Scott's presence on the phone was still necessary, since even though Judy was a fast learner, this didn't translate into becoming an instant legal expert and she still stumbled over a few problems. By the end of the afternoon, Judy had finished the greater majority of the work she had been assigned and was confident that what she had left, she could finish on her own.

" _Well, that was certainly a flashback to law school,"_ Scott joked.

"Yeah," Judy replied. "I hope it wasn't too much of a headache for you."

" _Nah, not at all. It was good to get a nice mental work out. And it was also really good to hear from you again."_

"It was good to hear from you too. Thanks for your help, Scott. I…I really appreciated it."

" _Well you know, if you ever need any help, you know where to find me."_

"Thanks, Scott."

" _And, you know, I wanna tell you something. I'm really proud of you, Judy. Being the first bunny to be admitted into the police academy, making it this far, it's an amazing accomplishment. It's something to really be proud of."_

Judy let a wide smile grow across her face, glad to hear words of praise from her childhood friend. She had heard nothing but worry from her parents whenever they called to see how she was doing, so to hear some encouragement and praise from someone she had known for almost as long was a real gratification.

"Thanks. That really means a lot to me, Scott."

" _And you deserve a lot, Judy,"_ came Gail's voice, as she entered the conversation. _"I want you to know that we're all so happy for you and so impressed with what you've been able to accomplish. And, well it's not that we thought you wouldn't make it, but you're doing something that really I never thought a bunny could do. And I really can't wait to see how much more you accomplish."_

Judy felt a lump form in her throat as her smile widened even further.

" _I want you to keep it up, Judy,"_ Scott said. _"Keep making chances for yourself."_

"I will," Judy replied brightly. "I really appreciate you guys."

" _We're both rooting for you,"_ Gail said. _"If you ever need help or someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call."_

"I won't."

" _Well, we should probably let you go probably get something to eat,"_ Scott said. _"Only two weeks to go. Make 'em count."_

"I definitely will. You can bet on that."

" _Good news. Well, it was great to hear from you, Judy. I hope Gail and I get to see you sometime soon."_

"I look forward to it. Thanks for your help everything you guys."

" _You're very welcome, Judy. Take care of yourself. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye."_

The line went quiet as Scott and Gail hung up, leaving Judy alone in her bunk, feeling uplifted that she had two great friends pulling for her. Judy fell on her back, finally giving in to exhaustion, having completed so much work in such a short time. That and being hunched over as she quickly scribbled notes, being able to lay out flat on her back felt like heaven at the moment. As she lay there, she allowed her mind to wander and her emotions to intermingle, creating a concoction of relaxation, relief, elation and tenderness. As she lay there, she began to slowly drift off the sleep, but before she could, her stomach growled loudly, ordering her to the mess hall for dinner.

 **More chapters to come. Please leave comments and reviews. I you do leave comments, I ask you to be kind and courteous. Flame comments will be ignored.**


	2. Chapter 2: Reconnecting

Chapter 2: Reconnecting

 _Six Months After the Night Howler Incident_

Judy stood in front of the mirror in her apartment, running a final inspection of the outfit she had prepared for the night, a deep blue, form-fitting satin dress that she'd had her eye one for some time from one of the Carrot Republic stores in downtown Zootopia. The dress was very slimming on her, while also bringing out the curves that she wanted, and it was complemented by a silver necklace with a pear cut amethyst for the pendant. While looking over her outfit, Judy couldn't help but think about how much she was enjoying her life at the moment. In less than a year of joining the Zootopia Police Department, she had solved one of the biggest cases that the city had ever been faced with, she had helped to put a corrupt politician behind bars, and she had risen through the ranks very rapidly. As she thought about how far she had come in her career, she couldn't help but turn her eyes away from the mirror to gaze proudly at the uniform hanging in her still open closet, which now bore sergeant's chevrons.

Judy smiled as she felt a sense of pride fill up within her. Those chevrons weren't just a trophy to be collected, and her rank wasn't just résumé fodder. Those chevrons represented her capacity to truly succeed at something that no bunny had ever done before. Though, Judy certainly wasn't one to complain about the perks the came with her rank either, specifically a higher paycheck.

While she was by no means a materialist, Judy felt it nice to be able to afford a few luxuries, for starters, finally being able to move out of her first apartment that even a dorm-room-bound college student would call a broom closet with a microwave. Now she had an actual bedroom, a small kitchen, a full bathroom, a full living space and walls made of material thicker than toilet paper. If there was one thing Judy didn't miss in the slightest, it was listening to Pronk and Bucky's constant, "You shut up! No, _you_ shut up! No, _you_ shut up!" That and even her whispering couldn't go unnoticed by the two brothers, so privacy in that first apartment was a myth. Now she was truly in her own home, and she loved it. And even with the cost of the rent and basic necessities, like food and utilities, she had enough left over from her paycheck to afford a few true luxuries every now and then.

After a few minutes of inspection from all possible angles, Judy was fully satisfied with her appearance. Normally, she wasn't this scrupulous when it came to what she wore, but tonight she wanted to look her best for her partner from the ZPD. Judy checked the clock and saw that she still had about fifteen minutes before Nick said he would arrive to pick her up for their dinner date. Judy quickly ducked into the bathroom to apply a few sprays of perfume, selecting one that she remembered Nick commenting on during their last date. If Nick had actually taken the time to compliment it, Judy knew it was a good one.

She came out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch, being sure not to wrinkle her dress, and turned on the TV to kill a little time, though in reality, she wasn't paying much attention to what was on. Her mind wandered to her and Nick, thinking about where exactly they were. Nick had been Judy's partner for close to two months, after graduating third in his class from the Zootopia Police Academy, and there was certainly a change to be seen in him. While he was still a wise-cracker with a sarcastic sense of humor, and while he had a tendency to be, as Judy put it, too honest about his opinions at times, his cynical attitude was virtually gone, replaced by a friendly and more outgoing demeanor. Nick would jokingly claim that it was her fault, though it was easy to see that he also enjoyed the change in his life. And because of their close friendship, Judy had the chance to see another side of Nick that the other officers hadn't, and that was his soft side. Not only had Nick become far more outgoing and friendly, but this change in his life allowed him to more easily show that he was kind and caring, especially around Judy. Whenever she had a bad day at work, whether it was just long and frustrating or she had to work with someone who had given her a hard time, Nick was always available to talk to.

But Nick's most recent behavior had come as quite a surprise to Judy. After less than a month of being partners on the force, Nick had asked Judy out on their first date. It was the traditional formula of dinner and a movie and the two had a genuinely good time. After that, the two had gone out together twice more, Nick changing things up a bit, first to a picnic in Zootopia Central Park and then hiking on a rather scenic trail just a few miles outside the city. For Judy, this was a whole new experience. The police force had been her main goal throughout her life, from the kithood until now. As such, finding a boyfriend wasn't something that she had really thought about. She hadn't gone out with anyone in the past, or been to any school dances as a teenager, not even her junior and senior high school proms.

But after being out with Nick a few times, she had warmed up to the idea of going out with someone and was able to more easily look at what she felt for Nick. For the first time, she was actually thinking about whether or not she wanted a romantic relationship…and she found herself leaning more towards the answer of yes. It was a strange feeling for her, but she would most definitely be lying if she said she didn't like it. Though, neither of them claimed that they were in a relationship. The two hadn't kissed yet either. But tonight, Judy felt that she would let this date determine whether they could take their relationship to the next level.

Judy was snapped out of her contemplation by the sound of a door closing just outside of her apartment building. Turning off the TV, she went to the window and looked down to see Nick exiting a clean white sedan. From what she could see from the window, he was dressed very nicely in a dark gray suit jacket and pants, a light brown vest, a white undershirt, and a black tie. Judy smiled upon seeing him, and ran to the mirror one last time to do one final check of her outfit. Just as she finished smoothing out her dress, her buzzer rang. Judy walked over to the receiver next to the door.

"Nick?" Judy said, pressing the button.

"Reporting as ordered, sergeant," Nick responded, causing Judy to giggle. "Hope you're ready to go, Carrots."

"Yeah, let me just buzz you in," Judy said, hitting the button next to the receiver, opening the building's main entrance. After granting Nick entry into the building, Judy ran to her room to grab her purse. As she turned out of the bedroom to go meet Nick at the door, she eyed her badge laying on the nightstand, causing her to pause for a second and contemplate whether or not to take it with her. Shrugging, she figured there wouldn't be any need for it tonight, leaving it where it was on the nightstand. As she exited her room, she received a knock on her door.

"Coming," Judy called. She hurried to the door, setting her purse down, and opened it to see Nick Wilde in the doorway with his signature sly smile, his emerald eyes half hidden by his eyelids, and one paw behind his back. Taking in his appearance up close, Judy thought he looked very well kept and very handsome in the suit he had on.

"Well, well," Judy said, "don't you look snazzy, Slick."

"Well, it is a special day isn't it?" Nick replied, pulling his paw out from behind his back and producing a bouquet of purple roses. "Happy birthday, Judy," Nick said, his sly grin shifting to a genuine caring smile.

"Nick, these are beautiful!" Judy said and took the flowers from Nick. "Aren't you quite the gentleman?"

"I try my best for you, madam," Nick said in an over-the-top formal tone of voice, taking Judy's paw and bringing it to his lips. Judy giggled lightly as Nick kissed her paw, and Nick took in a whiff of Judy's perfume.

"My, my, Carrots, this must be a very special birthday if you're wearing your best perfume," Nick said, Judy blushing at his compliment, "not to mention a stunning dress." Judy's blush deepened further, happy to hear that Nick approved of her dress.

"Let me go put these flowers in a vase before we go," Judy said.

"Sure thing, fluff."

As Judy walked back inside her apartment, Nick couldn't help but admire her outfit. The color seemed to suit her perfectly and it fit her like a glove, highlighting her curves flawlessly, and the perfect fit around her waist accentuated the smooth way her hips swayed as she walked. There was no word Nick could use to describe how amazing she looked.

Judy walked back around the corner from the kitchen and picked up her purse from the table by the door.

"You ready to go?" she asked.

"I'm ready if you are," Nick said, extending his paw to Judy, who happily took it as the two of them walked down to the car, Nick admiring Judy all the way down.

"You really do look amazing, Carrots," Nick said softly.

Judy smiled and squeezed Nick's paw. "Thanks. You look pretty handsome too."

They exited the building and Nick opened the car door for his date. "Your chariot, ma'am," Nick said.

"Why, thank you kind sir," Judy replied, stepping into the car, Nick shutting the door for her before entering the driver's seat.

"So, what do you have planned for us?" Judy asked.

"Well, I found this pretty nice place in Sahara Square that I think would be perfect for tonight," Nick said.

"Oh really?"

"Mmhmm," Nick said, a mischievous grin spreading across his muzzle allowing silence to fill the car.

"So, are you gonna tell me or do I start guessing?" Judy said playfully.

"Now, Carrots, what fun would someone's birthday be if they knew exactly what they were getting?"

Judy chuckled and said, "I suppose that's true."

Nick smiled and reached over to rub the back of Judy's paw. "Though, I can safely say that I'm sure you're gonna love it."

Judy smiled back, thinking how lucky she was to have Nick as a friend and thinking how sweet and caring he was, this time letting those thoughts linger longer than they had before and causing her heart to flutter. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes as Nick drove before Judy broke the silence.

"So, Nick, I wanted to ask you earlier, what was that call about? Back at the precinct?" Judy asked.

"What call?" Nick said.

"The one from the District Attorney's Office," Judy replied. "Chief Bogo sent you down there this morning, remember?"

Nick's eyes widened for a brief moment. _That_ call. He quickly regained his composure before answering, "Well…I don't know if I should tell you about that just yet."

"Why not?" Judy asked.

"Well, it's just that…I wouldn't wanna ruin anything."

Judy arched her eyebrow and threw a smirk Nick's way. "Telling me about your visit to the attorney's office would ruin something?"

Nick remained silent, causing Judy's face to fall. "It wasn't anything bad was it?" she asked.

"No, nothing like that," Nick replied laughing.

"Well, then why won't you tell me?"

Nick shot a playful look at Judy. "You'll find out why tonight…after dinner."

Judy simply rolled her eyes and slumped back in her seat.

"Well, aren't you impatient," Nick said.

"Maybe a little," Judy replied.

The two of them kept talking for the rest of the ride until they reached their destination. Judy's eyes widened as she saw where Nick had brought them for dinner, one of the most high-end restaurants in Zootopia, Arabian Nights. It was a five star restaurant located right alongside the shoreline and decorated in the style of a Middle-Eastern oasis, only far more ornate. The entrance was high arch, decorated to look like the exterior of a mosque, but upon entering, one was transported to something out of a Persian fantasy. The pillars that surrounded the dining room were painted to appear as Arabian date palms, the fronds stretching out onto the ceiling, and the dining room floor was illuminated to appear as if one were sitting atop the spring of an oasis, the lighting system even being designed to produce a rippling effect.

Judy looked back at Nick in amazement. "Nick," she said, "how did you-?"

"I have a few…connections," Nick said.

"I hope those are legal connections."

"Why, Sergeant Hopps, are you accusing a fellow officer of resorting to illegal means simply to acquire a dinner reservation?" Nick said in mock hurt. "Those are some rather serious charges."

Judy rolled her eyes and gave nick a playful shove. The part Nick was dreading the most, finding a parking space, actually turned out to work very well in his favor, snagging one just outside the main entrance. The two officers exited the car, Judy being very excited indeed.

"You ready to head in?" she asked.

"Just a second," Nick said. "I need to grab something out of the back seat."

"Oh really?" Judy replied playfully, standing on the tips of her toes in an effort to peek through the window.

"Ah, ah, ah," Nick said, stepping in Judy's line of sight. "No peeking."

Judy put on her best pouty face she could. "Aww, you're no fun."

Nick grinned at Judy's expression. "I swear that face almost makes me wanna let you take a look…almost."

Judy just smiled and shook her head as Nick quickly ducked into the backseat to grab what he needed. He reached into a small paper bag and pulled out a jewelry box adorned with a white gossamer bow and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket. He was about to close the door when he took one last look at the manila folder sitting on the backseat and smiled. That, he hoped, Judy would be ecstatic about.

* * *

 _Earlier That Week_

To say the last few days at Precinct 1 were uneventful was quite an understatement. True, it was good to see a low crime rate, especially in the wake of the Night Howler Incident, but most of the officers there were just being paid to sit at their desks and wait for a phone call or to finish up some paperwork. Unfortunately, Nick and Judy had fallen victim to the lull at the office as well.

The last several days had consisted of paperwork and the occasional call every two hours or so, Judy praying that it would be something that would allow her to get out of the office. But sadly, the calls were either just minor complaints, wrong numbers, or calls that needed to be directed to another department. For both Nick and Judy, the week was crawling by at a snail's pace. Every so often, Nick would glace over at his partner to see her with her chin resting on her desk, drumming her fingers and just waiting for something to do.

It was also during this week that Nick had first heard the name, Scott Collier.

On their third uneventful day, Nick and Judy were sitting in their office together with a stack of finished paperwork and a clock that read 10:35 a.m. Trying to find something to kill the time until lunch, Judy picked up a Zootopia Times newspaper from the employee lounge and took it back to her office, reclining in her chair as she read through it trying to find something interesting. Finally, she came across a story detailing a criminal case involving a female impala killing her ex-husband, the jury delivering a final verdict of guilty to first degree manslaughter, a crime of passion. As Judy read over the details of the case, she came across the name of the prosecuting attorney: Prescott Philip Collier. Having never actually learned his full name, Judy went to the computer to see if this was the same Scott Collier she had grown up with.

Finishing the inspection of his paperwork, making sure he wasn't leaving anything out, thus giving Chief Bogo cause to chew him out for 'inefficiency,' Nick neatly stacked all his documents together and placed them in a gray hanging file folder. Gathering everything together, he spun around in his chair to see Judy on her computer, her internet browser opened to the webpage for the District Attorney's Office. On her screen was a photo of a black and white border collie, wearing a black suit jacket, white undershirt, and red tie, smiling in front of a blue background. Above the photo was the name Prescott Philip Collier.

Arching his eyebrow, Nick said, "Hey, Carrots."

Judy jumped slightly and quickly spun around to face her partner.

"Did I startle you?" Nick asked, smirking slightly.

"Just a little," Judy said. "What's up?"

"I was just gonna ask if you wanted me to take your paperwork up to Chief Bogo's office for you."

"Oh, sure," Judy said, quickly gathering everything together into a folder and handing it to Nick. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem, Carrots," Nick replied. His attention turned back to Judy's computer screen. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Oh," Judy said, "it's just some stuff about a trial I read about in the news. I was just looking over some of the details."

"Hmm, nice. Who's that?" Nick asked, nodding toward the screen.

"Oh, that's the prosecutor," Judy replied. "I figured there might be some info about the trial on his profile."

Nick arched his eyebrow again as he looked at the information on the screen, none of it detailing anything about a case, but instead being a personal profile. Nick was about to say something, but something in the back of his mind caused him to simply shrug and say, "Bet you that guy's week's going by a lot faster than ours."

Judy giggled at Nick's comment and replied, "No kidding. What time is it anyway?" Judy looked up at the clock on their wall and saw that it read 10:39 a.m. "Ugh! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I wish," Nick replied. "Well, I best get these files up to the chief's office. Be right back."

"Mmhmm," Judy replied, plopping her cheek into her hand and returning to the computer screen. As Nick left, Judy continued to scroll down through Collier's profile. She narrowed her eyes as she examined the photograph that had been attached to the profile page. She admitted that the photo did look a lot like how she remembered Scott before he went off to study law, but then again, that was almost a decade ago. Finally, as she reached the bottom of the page, her eyes widened as she found the answer she was looking for as she came across a section detailing the attorney's personal information.

" _Within weeks of his graduation from Bunnyburrow High School, Collier was accepted to Bryant & Stratton College in Buffalo, New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in pre-law before being accepted to Harvard Law School. He graduated top of his class at Harvard Law, with honors. He currently lives in Zootopia with his wife Gail and their two children."_

Judy's stomach did a flip and her heart rate increased. The photo, the schools mentioned, the name of his wife. Everything checked out. This was her kithood friend. Seeing no reason not to, Judy picked up the phone and dialed in the DA's office number. After a few rings, Judy was met by a female's voice.

" _Hello, Zootopia District Attorney's Office. How may I help you?"_

"Hello, this is Sergeant Judy Hopps from ZPD Precinct 1. I'm calling for Prescott Collier. Is he available?"

" _Oh, I'm sorry, but Mr. Collier is currently attending an appellate conference."_

"Oh," Judy said, a bit disappointed at her timing. "Do you know how long he will be out?"

" _I'm afraid this conference is scheduled to last until about 8:00 p.m. tonight. If this is an urgent matter, I can put you through to the assistant DA."_

"No, no," Judy said, "it's nothing urgent, it's just…" Judy mulled over whether or not she should mention that this was a personal call. "…It's nothing that can't wait," she finally said.

" _Alright. Very sorry we couldn't help you today, sergeant."_

"Don't worry about it," Judy said. "Thank you anyway."

" _You're very welcome. Goodbye."_

Judy hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair, a bit disappointed that the timing of her call didn't work out as she had hoped. Still, she was glad to see that her old friend was in the city and that it was possible to reach him. Sitting back up, she returned to computer and began looking over the case file for this last trial.

The next day, Judy's hopes of contacting Scott again were all but dashed. She had attempted to call back the next morning, but from what she had been told, he was in the process of preparing for another trial and would most likely be busy for quite some time. Judy again cursed her luck and returned to the stack of paper work on her desk.

Nick and Judy ran through the routine that plagued nearly all the officers at the station: finish paperwork by around 11:00 a.m. and the try to find some way to keep from falling asleep at their desks.

Nick kept glancing over at Judy to see what she was up to, and he found her still on the DA's office website looking through cases, and in each one, the prosecuting attorney had been Prescott Collier. The first time Nick had just assumed that Judy was just curious about what she had read in the paper that day and decided to do a little research to keep herself occupied. But for the rest of the day yesterday she had been looking up cases from the same prosecutor and now she was still on that site pouring through case file after case file from Prescott Collier's profile. That couldn't have been a mere coincidence.

And if Nick was going to be fully honest with himself, he couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. Ever since the end of the Night Howler incident, Nick had begun to harbor feelings for Zootopia's first bunny cop, and over the last two months, he had started taking steps toward possibly turning their friendship into something more. But now Judy's attention was focused on this one border collie, to the point that she barely acknowledged Nick unless he was offering to turn in her paperwork or asking if she wanted a refill on coffee. It almost felt like the high school scenario of finding out that the girl you like is dating someone else. Of course, Nick wasn't ready to jump to those kinds of conclusions just yet. Though he was interested in finding out who this dog was.

The next day, after having gone through the motions yet again and finding themselves trapped in utter silence, Nick spun around in his chair to see Judy still glued to the computer screen.

"Must be a pretty engaging read, huh Carrots?"

"Hmm?" Judy said, spinning around to look at her partner.

"That case file," Nick replied. "It's been keeping your attention for a couple days now."

"Oh," Judy said. "Well, compared to the way work's been the last few days, just about anything'll keep me entertained."

Nick chuckled, saying, "Yeah, I know the feeling. I've gotten so bored with this paperwork that I started counting the pixels on my screen."

"What's the count up to so far?" Judy amusingly asked.

"Eh, I left off at around 2,500. I don't know. I might have counted a few of them twice."

Judy laughed and shook her head at Nick's comment. "Yeah, compared to filling out paperwork for almost a week straight, reading these files is like reading the Great American Novel," she said, gesturing to the case file on her screen.

"Looks like they're all by the same author too," Nick said.

Judy's ear perked and she cocked her head slightly. "Huh?"

"Just pointing out that all those case files you're reading have the same prosecutor. Prescott Collier, right?" Nick said, trying not to sound confrontational.

"Y-yeah," Judy replied, a bit confused. "How do you - ?"

"C'mon, Carrots. We share an office," Nick replied with a grin. "I'm bound to see what's on your screen a few times."

A half-smile made its way across Judy's face. "I guess so."

"Must be a pretty good attorney then."

"Well, yeah he is," Judy said, "but that's not exactly the reason I've been reading these cases. The thing is…Collier and I actually grew up together."

Nick felt his stomach drop suddenly as the implications of what that statement entailed flittered across his mind, things like a possible romantic connection between the two. Nick tried to tell himself, 'Quit thinking like that. There's no reason to make that leap yet.' Still, he couldn't help but feel that pang of jealousy. But as quickly as that little burning feeling hit him, Judy extinguished it.

"He's kind of my big brother."

Nick's head turned back toward Judy at breakneck speed, a look of genuine confusion on his face and a pregnant pause filled the office.

"Uh…what?" Nick said.

"Well, I guess I should say he's _like_ my big brother," Judy said.

"That would make a whole lot more sense," Nick replied. "I've never heard of biological siblings having two completely different last names."

"Really? That was your first clue?" Judy said sarcastically.

"Hey, who am I to say your parents couldn't have been different species?" Nick said, giving Judy his signature smile and a playful shrug.

"Okay, Mr. Politically Correct," Judy chuckled, "I'll grant you that one, but even after that, you tell me," she said, bringing up Scott's profile picture, "where do you see the family resemblance?"

Nick took his time, standing up from his chair and walking over to Judy, narrowing his eyes as he exaggeratedly compared his gray-furred, purple-eyed bunny partner to the black-and-white-coated, brown-eyed border collie on the screen. After about a minute, he opened his mouth and raised his index finger, Judy thinking he couldn't have possibly found a match between them.

"Okay, you got me there," Nick said throwing his paw up, causing Judy to chuckle at his antics.

"Anyway," Judy said, "we were really close back in Bunnyburrow, and, well…he was really kind of that brother I never really had."

"Didn't you tell me you had something like three hundred siblings?"

"Two hundred seventy-five," Judy said.

"Well, I'm not exactly a statistics professor or anything, but I'm guessing there had to be at least one brother in there."

"Yeah, but they were more like my parents," Judy said. "They told me it would be a better idea if I became a carrot farmer instead of a police officer. Scott was one of the only ones who really encouraged me to be a cop. He helped me train when I was a kit, he always had a pep talk ready, and even when I was in the academy he helped me with a couple assignments during the last couple of weeks…Honestly, if it weren't for him, I don't know if I'd be where I am today."

Nick looked at Judy tenderly, inwardly chiding himself for his jealousy.

"And now he's an attorney in Zootopia, huh?" he said. "Must be nice to know how close he is."

Judy smiled weakly at Nick. "It'd sure be nice to see him again. Guess I'll have to wait 'til after this trial of his."

"Why's that?" Nick asked.

"I tried calling him a couple days ago, but it sounds like he's got his hands full. Even his home phone's been busy."

Nick felt his chest tighten a bit as he saw Judy's downhearted face. Being an only child, Nick couldn't claim to know how Judy felt, but he could very well understand how she felt. Losing touch with someone who had been so supportive and so important in her life must have been difficult.

Judy rested her chin on her desk and began mindlessly drumming her fingers, her eyes not really focusing on anything. As she stared into space, she felt Nick reach around and grab her shoulder. She looked up to see him smiling softly at her. She returned his smile and leaned into him, slowly shutting her eyes and allowing silence to fill the room. However, the silence was soon broken by Chief Bogo's voice booming across the phone.

"Officer Hopps!" Bogo thundered, causing both Judy and Nick to jump.

"Y-Yes, Chief!" Judy quickly replied.

"I need you to report to my office."

"On my way, sir!" Judy hopped out of her seat and made her way to Bogo's office. As she opened the door, she stopped and looked back at Nick, who smiled as they made eye contact.

"Nick," Judy said as she walked back up to him and quickly kissed his cheek, "thanks for listening." She then turned and headed down the hall.

Nick ran his paw across the spot on his cheek where Judy kissed him, feeling a warm tingling sensation that forced a sheepish grin to crawl across his muzzle. He basked in the feeling for a few minutes before his mind came back to Judy's situation with Scott Collier. He wished there was something he could do for her, arrange some way for her to meet up with her old friend. Just then, he turned his eyes to the phone on his desk and thought that, just maybe, he'd have a bit more luck as far as the timing.

The next day, finding himself alone in the office, Nick decided to go ahead and put his luck to the test, hoping that maybe he could catch Scott while he was still free. Taking a breath and thinking, 'What's the worst that could happen?' Nick picked up the phone and dialed in the number for the District Attorney's Office. He sat back down at his desk as the phone continued to ring. After a few seconds, he was greeted by one of the office's operators.

" _Hello, Zootopia District Attorney's Office. How may I help you?"_

"Uh, hi there," Nick said. "My name is Officer Nick Wilde. I'm with the Zootopia Police Department."

" _Well, what can we do for you today, officer?"_

"Uh, I'm calling to see if I might be able to speak with Prescott Collier."

" _One moment, officer. Let me see if he's available."_ There was a pause on the end of the line as the operator set the phone down. Nick looked back at the door to make sure Judy wasn't about to return anytime soon. As soon as Nick turned back to face his desk, the operator picked back up.

" _Yes, Mr. Collier is currently in his office. Let me transfer your call right now."_

"Perfect! Thanks!" Nick said, making a quick fist pump and whispering, "Yes!"

The operator put Nick on hold while she transferred his call, her voice being replaced by elevator music. Nick drummed his fingers mindlessly to the beat of the music, though it didn't take long for the music to cut out and to be replaced by a mid-low pitched male voice.

" _Hello, this is Prescott Collier."_

"Oh, uh, hello," Nick said, clearing his voice. "This is Officer Wilde from the Zootopia Police Department."

" _Well, how are you doing this morning, officer?"_ Prescott replied in a friendly manner.

"Doing pretty good, thanks," Nick said.

" _So, how can I help you today?"_

"Uh, well I hate to bother you at work, but I was actually calling about something of a personal matter."

" _A personal matter?"_

* * *

The next day was Judy's birthday. She had received several happy birthday wishes from the officers in the bullpen and a new Gazelle CD from Clawhauser when she arrived at the precinct that morning. Though to her perplexity, Nick wasn't present at roll call. Even more confusing was that Bogo didn't seem to even notice, or, if he did notice, didn't acknowledge it.

"Chief!" Judy said.

"Hmm?" Bogo grunted, turning back to the sergeant.

"I was just wondering where Officer Wilde was today. He didn't tell me anything about being absent today."

"Technically, he's not absent from the duty roster today, sergeant," Bogo responded. "Officer Wilde did arrive earlier this morning, but he was called to report to the District Attorney's Office. He's expected to be back in the afternoon."

Judy was now thoroughly confused. "Did the DA's Office say what he was needed for?"

"I'm afraid not. However, that's their prerogative. I'm sorry I can't give you any more information than that sergeant."

Somewhat puzzled over what the district attorney could possibly want with Nick, Judy made her way to her office, a few other officers wishing her a happy birthday on the way. Upon entering her office, Judy was greeted by a rather pleasant aroma emanating from a paper bag on her desk. Hopping up on her chair, she found a note next to the bag. She instantly recognized Nick's handwriting.

 _Hey, Carrots. I'm guessing Bogo already told you, but I had to run down to the DA's office this morning. Sorry I couldn't meet you for breakfast, so to make it up to you, I swung by your favorite café and got you something. Hope the food's still warm for you. I'll be back to pick you up for lunch around 12:30. Oh, and don't forget we have our date tonight at 7:30. I hope you like where I'm taking you. Anyway, I better let you get your day going. I'll see you at lunch. And, of course –"_

Judy flipped the note over finding the backside blank, wondering why Nick had ended it there. Still bemused, Judy opened the bag on her desk, finding a bundle of three red roses inside and a slip of paper wrapped around them. Unwrapping it, she found the end of the note: _"Happy birthday! – Nick"_

"Aww," Judy said as she took a strip of tape and pinned the roses to the corner of her computer screen. She then reached back into the bag to find a cup of mocha coffee and a veggie scrambled egg biscuit sandwich, her two favorites. She couldn't help but feel a tingle in her chest at such a sweet gesture, causing her to place her paw on her heart. She then pulled out her phone and sent Nick a quick thank you text.

" _Thanks for breakfast this morning, Nick. And thanks for the flowers. It was really sweet of you. I can't wait for our dinner date tonight. I'll see you at lunch."_

Hitting 'send', Judy set her phone down and took a bite of her sandwich. She may have been looking at another long, slow day, but this was definitely a good way for it to start.

* * *

Nick smiled at Judy's text before putting his phone away and heading inside the office building for his meeting. Entering the lobby, he was greeted by a receptionist at the desk, a female coyote.

"Good morning, officer," she said. "How can I help you?"

"Hey there," Nick replied. "I have a meeting with the executive assistant DA at 9:00."

"Alright, let me just check on that real quick," the receptionist said, going to her computer to confirm the appointment. While she checked on it, Nick took some time to admire the building, which looked like a smaller replica of the capitol rotunda, complete with marble floors and pillars, brilliant acoustics and a painted mural decorating the ceiling. If he had thought that the lobby of Precinct 1 was impressive, he could only imagine being able to take in this amazing sight every morning.

"Ok," the coyote receptionist said, "it looks like you're all set. Mr. Collier will see you in his office."

"Sounds good," Nick said. "Uh, where's his office?"

"Second floor, just take a right after you step out of the elevator."

"Perfect. Thanks a lot."

"You're very welcome."

Nick made his way to the elevator, taking in the acoustics of the room as he listened to the sound of his footsteps reverberate of the walls. Taking the elevator to the second floor, he found his way to his destination rather easily. Taking a right as he stepped out, he came across a row of offices bordering the face of the building. Right next to the DA's office was a wooden door with a plaque reading _Exec. ADA Prescott P. Collier_.

"Hello, there," Nick heard, turning to see another receptionist, a caribou doe. "Are you Officer Wilde?"

"Yeah," Nick relied.

"Excellent," the receptionist said. "If you could please follow me." The doe led Nick to the door he saw with Collier's name on it as she opened the door for him, revealing a black-and-white-coated border collie in a black suit, white shirt, and red tie, sitting behind a large mahogany desk. From his appearance, Nick guessed he was in his late twenties to early thirties.

"Mr. Collier?" the receptionist said, getting the dog's attention.

"Hmm?" he said looking up. "Ah, yes. You must be Officer Wilde," he said standing up with a smile on his muzzle.

"That's right," Nick replied.

Collier approached him and held out his paw to Nick. "Excellent, excellent. Scott Collier. Good to finally meet you."

"Good to meet you too, Mr. Collier," Nick replied, shaking his paw.

"You can just call me Scott," he said. "Of course, you've met Ms. Antlerson," Scott said, gesturing to the receptionist.

"Will you two be needing anything, Mr. Collier?" she asked.

"I think we're pretty much set here. Thanks anyway, Cari."

"My pleasure," she said as she left the room.

Turning his attention back to Nick, Scott motioned him further into the room. "Please, come in, come in," Scott said, leading him to a chair in front of his desk. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"Um, sure," Nick replied.

"How do you take it?"

"Black's fine."

"Alright." Scott walked over to a shelf next to his desk, taking a white porcelain coffee set, and prepared two cups of coffee.

"So, you said over the phone yesterday that you're Judy's partner. That would place you at Precinct 1, am I right?" Scott asked.

"Uh, yeah," Nick replied.

"Heart of the city. Very nice. How are you liking it so far?"

"It's been pretty good. The last several days have been pretty slow."

"Hmm, my condolences," Scott said with a chuckle, Nick returning in suit. "I definitely know what that's like. And in our line of business, those days are never fun," Scott said, handing Nick his cup of coffee on a saucer.

"Thanks," Nick said, taking the cup.

Scott sat back down at his desk, taking a sip from his own cup. "So how long have you been on the force?"

"Uh, about two months now," Nick said.

"Oh, so you're fairly new."

"Yeah, still having to suffer through everyone calling me 'rookie'."

Scott laughed quietly at Nick's comment. "Yeah, I know how that feels too. I had to suffer through quite a bit of that when I first started working here."

"How long did it last?" Nick asked, hoping to get a gauge for what he was in for.

"Well, I don't know if it'd be the same for you, but for me…pfft, about a year?"

"Oh, great," Nick said dryly.

"Well, then again my department is ever so slightly more complex than the police," Scott reassured, "so, I'm guessing I had to gain a bit more experience before I was allowed to graduate from rookie status. Hopefully you won't have to suffer through it for nearly as long."

"Hopefully," Nick said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Well, I certainly didn't," Scott replied, the two of them laughing. "So, you said over the phone yesterday that you wanted to talk to me about a personal matter? It had something to do with Judy?"

"Mmhmm," Nick said, swallowing his coffee before he continued. "So, she gave me a little rundown of how you guys grew up together and how you guys haven't really had the chance to see each other in a while."

"No, we haven't had the chance," Scott said regretfully. "The last time we spoke was almost a year ago while she was still at the academy."

"Yeah, she said that she tried calling you a couple days ago and she still couldn't reach you."

"Really? She called? I'll be damned. I wish someone told me about that."

"Yeah, she seemed pretty down about it, so I wanted to talk to you about that. I want to do something special for her birthday, and I thought doing something to get you guys to reconnect might be up there."

Scott's ears perked and his head jerked up an inch. "That's right! Today's her birthday isn't it?" he said. "My God, I completely forgot."

"Eh, don't worry," Nick said. "We won't hold it against you."

Scott cracked a smile and gave a curt laugh. "Uh, yeah, it'd be nice to see Judy again, and I'm sure my wife would be happy to see her too. They were also pretty close. The thing is I'm just not sure when I'd be free. We've got a trial underway right now and we'll be continuing with witness testimony tomorrow morning, but I'm not entirely sure how close the jury is to a verdict."

Right then, something clicked in Nick's mind, recalling how Judy was pouring over all the case files that Scott had handled in the past.

"Well, do you think we might be able to watch the trial?" Nick asked.

Scott arched his eyebrow at Nick's suggestion. "Well, I suppose so. I can't think of any reason why you couldn't. Is that something you think she'd be interested in?"

"Well, if I were to go purely off the fact that she was practically glued to her computer screen while looking over your recent case files the other day, I'm gonna say yes," Nick replied with a grin.

"Really?" Scott asked.

"She barely acknowledged the fact that I was in the same room."

"Wow, that interested, huh?"Scott said, cracking a smile. "Who would've thought?"

"A bunny of many surprises," Nick said. Scott smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Well, if you think she'd be interested, I would definitely look forward to seeing you both there," Scott said. "If you want, I could give you a rundown of what the case is about in order to get a little context. Always better than trying to fly into one of these things blind."

"Um, I guess so," Nick said. "I'm not really sure how much we'd need to know if we're just gonna be watching the trial."

"Well, let me put it to you this way," Scott said. "Have you ever tried watching just the second half of a crime drama?"

"Not really, no."

"Believe me most of your time is spent thinking, 'What the hell is going on?'"

"And suddenly the details sound a lot more appealing," Nick remarked, prompting a chuckle from Scott.

"Well then, let me get you a copy of the case file," Scott said. He swiveled his chair slightly to face the phone on his desk and hit the intercom button. "Cari, can I see you in my office for a second?"

" _On my way, sir,"_ Cari replied. Scott stood up and went to his file cabinet, pulling out a file labeled "People v. Leopold." As he did, Cari Antlerson entered the room.

"Cari, could you make a copy of this case file for Officer Wilde?"

"Yes, sir," Cari replied. "Has Mr. Barksdale approved this?"

"I'll clear it with Adam, don't worry," Scott replied.

"I'll get right on it then."

"Thanks, Cari," Scott said, closing the door behind her as she left. Turning his attention back to Nick, he said, "Uh, it'll take a while to get those documents copied. In the meantime let me get you up to speed about what the case is."

The rest of Nick's time in Scott's office was dedicated to learning as much as he could about what the trial would be about. He could definitely say that this sounded interesting to him. The trial was for a kidnapping case that was brought to light after an 'accident' in Zootopia Central Subway Terminal that resulted in the death of a college professor. The incident led to the perpetrator being discovered as having violated a custody agreement by taking his children from school, fleeing to a new district and changing his identity. Nick was shocked that he wasn't facing charges of murder for this professor, but Scott explained that one of his daughters claimed that she was the one who killed her.

"Do you think she really did it?" Nick asked

"That's not what my wife thinks," Scott replied. Nick shot him a quick smirk.

"Gail's a forensic psychologist," Scott said in response to Nick's expression. "We had her interview the daughter. In her professional opinion, she's covering for him."

"You serious?"

"Yep. Gail's full evaluation should be in the case file. Basically, this 'William Leopold' has pretty much drilled this idea into his children's heads that they don't exist apart from him."

"And the 'Dad of the Year Award' goes to…"

"Three guesses who. First two don't count," Scott said, both of them cracking a smile.

"The big question in my book is why?" Nick said.

"From what his ex-wife said the guy has a panic attack if the pillars are crooked. He has to have control over everything, which would include basically every aspect of his children's lives."

"Hmm, make that 'Dad of the Year with Honors'."

Scott chuckled, amused at Nick's sense of humor. It was something he could well relate to. "So anyway, as far as the murder charge goes, we can't prosecute the daughter, she didn't do it. We can't prosecute him with her saying she did."

At that moment, Cari Antlerson returned.

"Excuse me, Mr. Collier. I have the case file ready," she said, holding up a tan manila folder.

"Ah, excellent," Scott said, standing up from his desk and taking the folder from the receptionist, looking through it to make sure everything was in place. "Alright, looks good. Thanks, Cari."

"My pleasure, sir," she said with a smile and exited the office.

"Looks like everything's in order here," Scott said to Nick. "Let me just add one thing." He reached into his desk and pulled out a sheet of business paper and took a fountain pen from a holder on his desk. "I figure that since I forgot about Judy's birthday, the least I can do is give her a card."

Nick and Scott smiled as Scott began writing Judy's birthday letter.

"So, you have anything planned for Judy tonight?" Scott said, looking up with a sly grin.

"Oh, well, uh," Nick stammered, feeling like a high school boy who got caught dating the principal's daughter.

Scott smiled. "I'm not her father, Nick. You can go ahead and tell me."

"Well, yeah, I did. I was gonna take her out to dinner tonight," Nick replied.

"Sounds nice," Scott said. "Where to?"

"Uh, this place downtown. It's this Brazilian restaurant."

"Oh, uh, Brisas Do Sul?"

"Yeah, have you been there?"

"Yeah, took Gail there for a date night last week. However," Scott said, placing his letter into the case file folder, "if you really wanna make an impression, I'd suggest taking Judy to Arabian Nights in Sahara Square."

Nick's took on an incredulous look upon hearing Scott's suggestion. "Well, I might have taken her there if I'd managed to put in a reservation three months ago," he said.

"You let me worry about that," Scott said with a friendly smile.

"You're seriously saying you can get us in tonight?" Nick said in disbelief.

"I'm fairly confident in my abilities," Scott replied. "What time were you two looking at?"

"Uh, 7:30. I was gonna pick her up at around 6:30, 6:45," Nick replied.

"7:30…yeah I can swing that." Scott handed Nick the case file. "Okay, so everything's there. I hope I get to see you guys tomorrow. Be sure to give Judy my best."

"Absolutely," Nick said taking the file. "And…really thanks a lot for doing this for us. Arabian Nights. That's one hell of an offer."

"Not a problem, Nick. Want to help you out in making a good impression with Judy," Scott said. "However, I should mention one thing."

Nick's face began to drop at Scott's words, preparing for…something.

"While I may not be Judy's father, she's always been something of a little sister to me…and I tend to suffer from 'Overprotective Brother Syndrome,'" Scott said. Nick's face continued to fall slowly, and he felt like he was shrinking slightly in front of the border collie, who's voice and face were becoming more serious. "So, with that said, I'll put it to you plain and simple: if you do anything to hurt her or make her upset in any way, I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."

Nick looked Scott in the eye, trying his best to keep calm. Trying to break the tension in the room, Nick let out a nervous laugh and said, "I'll, uh…I'll do my best."

Scott simply raised his eyebrow at the fox, causing Nick's ears to droop behind his head and his eyes to widen, his pupils contracting as he looked Scott in the eye. After a few seconds of pin-drop silence, a smile crept its way back onto Scott's face as he started laughing. "Oh, God you should see you face," he laughed, shaking his head.

Nick's face relaxed as relief quickly filled him. He felt his breath trying to catch up as he allowed himself to breathe again. "And you find that funny?" Nick said.

"Very much so, yes," Scott said, still laughing. "Don't worry, Nick. I'm sure you and Judy will have a good time." Scott placed a reassuring paw on Nick's shoulder as he led him to the door. "Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you at the courthouse tomorrow."

"Thanks," Nick said. "We'll be there."

"And just as a final tip, before you go to pick up Judy tonight, a quick trip to the florist never hurts."

* * *

Nick and Judy walked down by the shoreline of the Sahara Beach, the light of the full moon shimmering off the water, the sound of small waves gently rolling up on the sand, the cool sea air gently ruffling Judy's fur. She took a long deep breath through her nose, taking in the clear, sweet ocean air. A perfect follow up to an amazing dinner. Nick had certainly made Judy's birthday a memorable one. From his simple gesture that morning to the date that night, Judy could say with confidence that this was by far her best birthday. The two found a bench along the trail that ran alongside the beach and sat down together in silence, taking in the hypnotic sounds of the ocean. As they sat, Judy thought back to what she had told herself earlier in her apartment, about letting this date determine whether she really wanted a relationship with Nick. Taking everything in from that morning until now, every small gesture from breakfast to the new heart-shaped amethyst necklace that she had received at dinner, the way Nick had acted like a perfect gentleman throughout the night, and adding all of that to her already strong friendship with him, Judy was confident that a relationship with this fox would not only work, but that it was something that she wanted.

Now came the hard part: telling him. As soon as she had confirmed it to herself, Judy was completely unsure of how to tell Nick that she wanted a relationship. She even began to question, despite all supporting evidence, whether Nick wanted a relationship with her. Whether her feelings were truly being reciprocated. It was such a cruel paradox.

Thinking of something to break the silence, Judy looked up and Nick and said, "Thank you, Nick…I had a great time tonight."

Nick smiled at the bunny, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "My pleasure, Carrots," he said. "I'm glad you had a good time." Judy nestled her head into Nick's shoulder. "Of course, there's still one last surprise I have for you."

Judy looked up at Nick, curiosity in her eyes. Nick led her back to the car and opened the back door. Turing back around to face her, he handed Judy a tan manila folder. Judy read the tab, "People v. Leopold." Judy shot Nick a bemused look.

"A case file?" she said.

The sly grin that Nick was known for spread across his muzzle. "Try opening it."

With a confused smile, Judy opened the file to see a sheet of business paper with the watermark for the DA's office at the top. Judy sat on the edge of the rear seat of the car as she read what it said.

" _Dear Judy,_

 _I'm sure you're wondering what this file is about. Your partner, Nick stopped by my office to talk to me this morning and told me that you might be interested in observing a court case. This file contains all the information about a kidnapping trial that will be continuing tomorrow morning. If you're interested, I would love to have you attend the trial. I think it would definitely be a good chance for you and Nick to witness the other side of the criminal justice system. Also it would be good to see you again. It's definitely been a long time. I'm sorry I never got a chance to talk to you earlier this week. Nick told me that you tried calling, but that I was busy. I wish someone had told me you'd called. I certainly would have made time for Gail and me to reconnect with you. I want you to know how proud of you we are. I've been keeping up with your progress as best I can from what I read in the news, and what you've managed to accomplish is nothing short of astounding. Not only have you become the first bunny cop, but just three months into your career, you managed to solve one of the biggest cases this city has faced. To say that I'm impressed is a gross understatement. I'm beyond amazed. I hope that you continue down this path that you've set for yourself and keep going above and beyond. I hope to see you again soon and I wish you a very happy birthday._

 _All my best,_

 _Scott Collier"_

Judy's eyes widened in amazement as she read the letter that her kithood friend had written. She lifted her head up to look at Nick, who was standing over her with a tender smile.

"Nick…" she managed to say, unsure of how else to word how she felt at that moment. Nick said nothing, but continued holding his smile.

As she reread the letter, Judy felt something well up inside her, an overpowering feeling that she had never experienced before. Whatever it was, it completely banished any trepidation she felt. Judy closed the case file and set it back on the car seat before standing back up, grabbing Nick's tie and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

As soon as their lips locked, Judy threw her arms around his neck. Nick was shocked by the suddenness, as well as the force of the kiss, but his shock soon melted into bliss as he gladly gave himself into it. Judy softened the kiss as she started rubbing the back of Nick's neck, letting out a long peaceful sigh as Nick wrapped his arms around her waist, one paw gently petting her ears.

After what seemed like an eternity, they broke their kiss and stared into each other's eyes. Neither of them knew what to say to each other and instead only beamed at one another. Finally, Nick broke the silence, simply saying, "Wow."

"Wow," Judy repeated.

The two of them leaned forward into another kiss, letting the moonlight bathe them as they embraced.


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

Chapter 3: Reunion

 _Courtroom scene based on the episode "Tabula Rasa" from the show,_ _Law & Order._

Nick and Judy stepped out onto the second floor of the apartment building as Nick escorted his date home. Judy could hardly believe the events that had transpired that night. Her lips still tingled from the intensity of the kiss she had shared with the fox that stood in front of her. Her heart fluttered as she looked up and met his emerald green eyes. She couldn't have imagined a more amazing night than this one, and she didn't want it to end. Not now, not back by the oceanside of Sahara Square. That explosion of passion that she felt when her lips met Nick's for the first time was overwhelming. And it wasn't just the euphoria that she reveled in. It was the sense of pure bliss and joy that flowed through her as she and Nick embraced and melted together. It was the way tears welled up in her eyes as she felt his warmth. It was the way she felt now as she smiled at him.

Nick couldn't have felt more incredible than he did now. He knew he had feelings for Judy, but the passion that resulted in the fruition of his efforts was something that he had never expected. And he loved it. He loved every minute of his time with her. Every second. And when they had finally kissed, the elation that filled him was unbelievable. He felt as if the rest of the world had simply fallen away, leaving only him and Judy. What he felt in that kiss made him realize how he truly felt for this little bunny. This was no simple infatuation. This was something much, much stronger. He felt it as he gently stroked her ears as they held each other close. He felt it as his heart soared and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt it now, as her amethyst eyes glistened as he stared into them, completely lost in their beauty.

The two of them stood there as Judy fiddled with her keys, a warm smile on her face.

"Nick," she said softly, a small lump forming in her throat, "thank you…for everything…You made this an incredible night." Judy then glanced at the manila folder that was protruding out of her purse. "And especially for this," she said, small tears building in the corners of her eyes. "I…I don't even have the words."

Nick wrapped both his paws around hers and brought them up to his lips. He cast a warm, caring smile upon his beautiful bunny and said, "You're more than welcome, Carrots. I'm happy you had a good time."

A tear escaped Judy's eye and trickled down her cheek, prompting Nick to gently bring his paw up and wipe it away. He lingered for a while, tenderly cupping her cheek before leaning forward and guiding her toward him, their lips coming together in a soft, warm kiss. Nick stroked Judy's cheek with his thumb slowly and rhythmically as she dropped her keys and allowed her arms to slowly snake up his torso and wrap around his neck. To two held the kiss for several minutes, neither of them wanting it to end. When they finally broke apart, they returned to gazing into each other's eyes.

"Well," Nick said almost regretfully as he bent down and picked up Judy's keys "I better let you get some sleep." He placed the keys back into her paws. "You've got an exciting day tomorrow."

"Yeah," Judy quietly replied. "Okay."

"Sleep tight, Carrots," Nick said, kissing her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He then turned and began to walk back toward the stairs. Judy began to fumble with her keys, not finding, or maybe not wanting to find the one to her door.

"Nick," she called down the hall to her vulpine friend. He spun back around at her call and she looked away, blushing lightly. "…Could you maybe…come inside for a little while?"

Nick was a little surprised at Judy's invitation, but he couldn't imagine that there'd be anything wrong with it. "Sure thing, Carrots," he said warmly. "Anything you want."

Judy smiled and thumbed through her keys to find the one to her door, granting entry to her and Nick. The two entered silently and Judy went to her bedroom to drop off her purse. She pulled out the manila folder and opened it to look at the letter Scott had written her. She still couldn't believe what Nick had done for her, that he had gone out of his way to make sure she could see her kithood brother figure again. Any other friend, even a best friend, could sit there and tell her how much he understood her and felt for her, but it took a big heart to do something like this. Closing the folder, she walked back out into the living room to find Nick still standing.

Judy giggled and said, "You know, Nick, you can sit down if you want to."

"I know it might be a little hard to believe," Nick said with his sly smile, "but my mom did teach me a few manners, like never sit down unless the lady of the house tells you."

Judy laughed quietly and shook her head. "You've really taken on the gentleman role lately, haven't you?"

"I still blame you for it," Nick replied.

"Then I'd say I did a pretty good job." Judy walked up and pulled Nick into a tight hug, resting her head on his chest. "I really like seeing this side of you."

Nick held her close and began slowly rocking her back and forth. "So do I, Carrots."

They separated and Judy guided him down onto the sofa. She leaned into him as they sat, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her even closer.

While she had put up a serene façade, inwardly Judy's heart was racing and a swarm of butterflies filled her stomach. She knew that if she really wanted…this, if she wanted to keep it, she would have to tell Nick. But again, she felt that emotional wall that she felt on the shore of Sahara Square, and again she silently cursed herself. She and Nick had already kissed three times tonight, but now she couldn't tell him that she wanted to keep this going? _"Ugh, why does this have to be so hard!?"_ she shouted in her mind. _"Come one Judy. Just one word and the rest will just come out,"_ she thought. _"Just his name. That's all you have to say."_

Taking in a long, deep breath, she glanced up at him. "…Nick?"

Nick looked down into Judy's eyes. "Yeah?" he said.

"…Can I…I need to talk to you about something," Judy said, struggling to make herself audible with the lump in her throat.

"Anything you want," Nick replied, smiling tenderly at her.

Judy took another calming breath before proceeding. "Nick, I know that…going out with you over the last few months…well, I've had a really great time and it's been so great getting to spend time with you. You're a really great guy…but…"

Judy went silent for a moment, causing Nick to start thinking of the worst case scenarios again. From Judy's seemingly somber attitude, he began to ask what he had done wrong. Was it the kiss? Had he been too forward? _"Well, she kissed_ me _,"_ he thought. Was it maybe that their relationship had to stay professional? Finally, his mind moved to what he thought was the most likely case: their species. What if Judy didn't want an interspecies relationship, or at the very least didn't think it would work?

" _Nick, shut up!"_ he shouted to himself. _"She hasn't said anything like that! You're getting yourself worked up over nothing…again!"_

Pushing these thoughts aside as best he could, he focused his attention back to Judy. And, just like that day in the office, what she said next banished all his doubts.

"…but…tonight was something really special…and everything you've done…" Judy beamed a bright smile at him. "You have such a sweet heart, Nick…and you're a pretty good kisser." Judy broke her eye contact with Nick, blushing profusely at what she just said and an embarrassed smile forcing its way across her face. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that you're my best friend…but I think I want it to be more than just that."

Nick's eyes widened in stunned surprise and a tense silence filled the apartment. Finally he took Judy's paw and said, "So in other words, do I want you to be my girlfriend? Yes…yes I do."

Judy brought her eyes back up to Nick to see him casting a tender, caring gaze upon her. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she replied, "And do I want you to be my boyfriend?...Absolutely."

* * *

The next day, Judy was up and awake at the crack of dawn, adrenaline coursing through her as she quickly got ready for the big day. She had hardly gotten a wink of sleep that night. At least that gave her some time to look over the case file. From what she read this wouldn't be a boring trial. A first degree kidnapping case, a custody battle, an overly controlling father. It wasn't something like the Night Howler Case, but it still offered enough suspense to keep her interested. And, of course, there was the chance to see Scott Collier in action. If nothing else, that was enough to get her to attend the trial.

Judy took a quick shower then ran to put together her dress uniform, a bark blue long-sleeve shirt with a patch on each shoulder tucked into a pair of dark blue pants, a black tie, a utility belt, and finished off by a polished brass badge on the left breast. Once Judy had finished putting her uniform together, she hopped in front of the mirror to do a brief once-over, quickly polishing her badge and taking a glance at the chevrons on her right sleeve. Proud of her appearance and eager for Scott to see it, she bounded out of her room and started making her way out of her apartment to go pick up Nick. But as she headed for the door, she stopped when heard a knock. She stood still for a few seconds with her ears perked before opening the door to see a red fox in a police dress uniform standing in the doorway, a sly grin on his face and two green eyes staring down at her.

"Morning, Carrots," Nick said. "Good to see you're all ready to go." He handed her a cup of StarBuck's coffee before taking a sip of his own.

"Who are you and what have you done with Nick Wilde?" Judy said with a scrutinizing look.

"Well, well, aren't we quick to accuse?" Nick said, his expression unfazed. "So, do all bunnies just handcuff suspects on the spot or is it just you?"

"Well, the Nick Wilde I know normally sleeps through his 9:00 alarm," Judy said more teasingly, "so whoever you are, you're putting on a pretty unconvincing performance by showing up at 6:30."

Nick shrugged and said, "I just assumed that with all the little surprises I've been pulling, one more wouldn't be much of a shock."

Judy rolled her eyes and pulled Nick into a kiss. "Hmm," she said as they separated, "caramel macchiato. I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Yep, contrary to popular belief, I do enjoy more than just black coffee."

Judy giggled and kissed Nick on the cheek. "Glad to know you like to spice things up a little, slick."

"Keeps life interesting. Anyway, we better head to the courthouse. I'd hate for us to miss out on a good seat."

"Well then, let's go!" Judy said as she bounded down the hallway toward the stairs, dragging Nick with her.

They arrived at the courthouse at close to 7:15. The air outside was still crisp and the sounds of the city began to pick up: a police siren, a taxi honking, a tire screech, all reverberating off of the skyscrapers. Nick pulled up in his police cruiser while Judy stared in wonder at the Zootopia Supreme Court Building. The courthouse was a massive structure with a façade modeled in the fashion of the Greek Parthenon, giving the courthouse the appearance of a temple. Perched atop the building was a statue of a slender lioness representing Iustitia, the Roman goddess of justice. She stood tall and stern, a blindfold over her eyes to represent impartiality, a scale in her left paw to represent the weighing of evidence, and a sword in her right to represent punishment. The rest of the building was more modern, but there was still something about the architecture that gave it an ancient Roman feel. The courthouse was a large hexagon that rose at least ten stories, built of grey-faced granite, with a large marble rotunda in the center. Truly a sight to behold.*

"You nervous at all?" Nick asked.

Judy turned around and looked at him and gave him a half smile. "I guess a little," she said. "I'm still excited though."

Nick reached over and rubbed the back of her paw. "I'm glad I was able to do this for you, Carrots."

Judy smiled wider at Nick who responded in kind. The two exited the cruiser together and Judy stood and continued to take in the might of the courthouse. "You ready to go, Fluff?" Nick asked.

"Let's go," Judy responded. The two made their way up the stairs to the stone pillars that marked the entrance. The officers were completely dwarfed by the courthouse, and they weren't the only ones. It seemed that every animal that walked inside or walked past was a mere speck in comparison. As they walked in, they entered a tall hallway of polished granite lined with doors of mahogany with bright brass trimming. Nick and Judy's footsteps echoed off of the high walls as they walked, giving the interior a feeling of authority and power.

"So, where are we supposed to be going here?" Judy asked.

"Uh, one sec," Nick said, pulling a slip of paper out of his breast pocket. "Scott said the trial would be taking place in Part 42, room 733 on the seventh floor. So, I guess we better find an elevator."

"Like that one right there?" Judy said, pointing her thumb at a pair of elevator doors right to the left of them.

"That oughta work," Nick said. The two smiled at each other and entered the elevator, making their way to the seventh floor. They stepped out into a hallway almost identical to the one they were just in and began making their way around the perimeter, looking for Room 733. They found it relatively quickly, a walnut door with a marble plaque on the wall next to it: Supreme Court Part 42, Room 733.

"You think it's open yet?" Judy asked.

"We can always check," Nick replied. Judy stepped forward to see if the door was unlocked, but before she could lay her paw on it, she heard a voice stop her.

"Judy!" the voice called. Her ears perked. She knew that voice. She'd heard it almost a year ago over the phone while laying in her bunk at the Police Academy. She turned to face the source standing just a few feet away, a black-and-white border collie, about Nick's height with light blue eyes and a friendly smile that she had known since she was eight years old. "Judy Hopps," he said.

"Scott?" Judy said, her voice wavering slightly.

"In the flesh," Scott replied.

Judy couldn't find any words and instead ran to Scott and threw her arms around his waist, causing him to take a few steps back to keep from falling over. He laughed as he set his briefcase down and returned the hug, happy to see his "little sister" again. Nick stood back and watched the two, quietly admitting that it was a nice sight to see. They did bear a strong resemblance to two siblings finally reuniting after years of separation. They broke apart and Judy wiped a tear from her eye.

"It's so good to see you again!" she declared.

"It's good to see you too," Scott replied. He brought his head up and acknowledged Judy's partner standing off a few feet from them. "Nick," Scott said happily, extending his paw out to him, "glad you to see you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it," Nick said shaking his paw.

"Well," Scott said, taking a step back and refocusing on Judy, "just look at you. That uniform definitely suits you, Officer Hopps."

"Actually, that's Sergeant Hopps," Nick boasted. Judy playfully swatted his arm while Scott looked over at her right sleeve to see the chevrons adorning her uniform.

"Well, so it is," he said. "Very impressive! You've really been making a name for yourself, haven't you?"

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one whose been making a name for himself, Mr. Head Prosecutor," Judy remarked. "I'd say you're looking pretty classy yourself."

Scott smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear that you approve," as he tousled the fur on Judy's head.

"Ah, Scott!" Judy laughed as she batted his paw away and proceeded to fix her fur.

"Hey, I'm still five years older than you, so I still reserve the right to do that," Scott said.

"So, do I reserve the right to do that too?" Nick asked mischievously.

"You're still gonna have to earn that one, slick," Judy teased.

"You mean it doesn't come with being your boyfriend?" Nick said in mock hurt. "You do me such an injustice."

"Oh, shush," Judy said, swatting him again.

"Hold on a second," Scott said. "Did I just hear you say 'boyfriend'?"

Judy's eyes widened and heat rushed to her cheeks, the realization hitting her that Scott wasn't aware of what had happened that night.

"Oh…um, yeah," Judy said. "He said 'boyfriend'."

A sly grin plastered itself onto Scott's face. "Well, glad to hear last night went off nicely then," he said, winking at Nick who wrapped his arm around Judy.

"We're glad it did too," Nick replied, looking down at Judy. She smiled up at him and pressed herself a little more into his side.

"Well then, unless someone already beat me to it, let me the first to say congratulations!" Scott said enthusiastically.

"Thanks," Judy said. "That means a lot."

"My pleasure. Well, if you want we can head into the courtroom. I need to meet with the judge for a few minutes, but it shouldn't be too long. You guys can pick out a seat wherever you want."

"Sounds pretty good to me," Nick said.

"Me too," Judy added.

"Alright, let's head on in!" Scott grabbed his briefcase and entered first, holding the door open for the couple as they made their way to the front of the empty courtroom and took a seat in the front row on the right side. Scott walked past them and set his briefcase down on the table right in front of the wooden guard that separated Nick and Judy from the main floor. He fiddled with the dials on the combination lock for a few seconds before the case popped open and he lifted the lid, taking out a few documents and setting the case aside.

"Ok, so like I said, I just need to duck into the judge's chambers real quick," Scott said. "Make yourselves comfortable, and I ought to be out in few minutes…hopefully."

Scott walked past the stand and into a door to the side of the courtroom, leaving the two officers in still silence. Once the two were alone, Judy pushed herself up toward Nick and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks again for doing this, Nick," she said. "It really means a lot to me."

"No problem, Carrots," Nick said. "You deserve it." He chuckled as he looked at Judy seeing some of her fur still sticking up. "I think you might wanna fix your fur there, Carrots."

"Hmm?" Judy said as she felt the strands on her head. "Oh, geez." She rolled her eyes and licked the palms of her paws, hoping that would be enough to keep her fur from sticking up as she groomed her head.

"So, I still have to earn the privilege of being able to mess up your fur every once in a while, huh?"

"And don't expect to earn it very soon, Wilde," Judy teased.

"Oh, I don't intend to. Where's the fun in earning it if it's too easy?"

Judy shook her head before nuzzling up next to her fox. "Oh, cheese and crackers, what have I gotten myself into?" she said softly.

Nick didn't respond, but instead wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. The two sat in silence for a while, Judy looking around the still empty courtroom at all the paintings and murals that decorated the walls.

"This is actually pretty cool. Can't wait to see what the trial's gonna be like," she said.

"Mmhmm," Nick responded. "Hope I don't get too confused."

"Well, you read the case file didn't you?"

"Mmm…"

Judy smiled wryly up at him. "Seriously, Nick?"

"I did skim over it last night, and in my defense Scott gave me a pretty detailed rundown in his office yesterday."

"What about all the time we had in the office after lunch yesterday?"

"And risk spoiling the big surprise for your birthday?"

Judy had to admit Nick had a point there, but she wasn't about to let him off without some sort of comeback. "Well how about this?" Judy said. "If you'd shown me the file then, you would've gotten your kiss sooner."

Nick returned with a roguish smile. "Touché, Carrots. Touché."

Judy giggled and gave him a quick kiss before leaning back against his side.

* * *

"Your honor," said the stout Welsh corgi that stood next to Scott, "with all due respect, this interpretation of the kidnapping statute is completely out of line with the accusation against my client. To be quite frank, I'm surprised that Mr. Collier has been allowed to continue this trial for as long as he has!"

"It's only the second day of testimony, Mr. Pembroke. And in exactly what way are the charges out of line with your client's actions?" Scott asked incredulously.

"My client, if anything, is only guilt of kidnapping in the second degree, and the statute of limitations on kidnapping two ran out years ago."

"The grand jury ruled that there was sufficient evidence to sustain charges of violation of a custody agreement and first degree kidnapping, an A-1 felony, which doesn't have a statute of limitations."

"And exactly what grounds do you have for charging my client with first degree kidnapping?"

"I cite Penal Law Section 135.25, your honor," Scott said, addressing the judge. "A person is guilty of first degree kidnapping 'when he abducts another person and when he restrains the person abducted for a period of more than twelve hours with intent to terrorize them or a third person.'"

"First of all," the corgi said, "there's no evidence that my client intended to terrorize his children, and second of all, you're omitting a crucial factor. Section 135.30: 'In any prosecution for kidnapping, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant was a relative of the person abducted, and his sole purpose was to assume control of such person.' My client fits both criteria for positive defense of kidnapping, your honor."

"I'm afraid Mr. Pembroke is omitting a crucial factor of his own. I cite U.S. Code, Title 18, Chapter 55, Section 1201, Subsection h. While the defendant may be his children's biological father, '…the term "parent" does not include a person whose parental rights…have been terminated by a final court order.' If you recall, Mr. Pembroke, I mentioned less than two minutes ago that your client violated a court order granting custody of his children to his ex-wife."

"Alright, alright," the judge, an elderly coyote, said raising his paw to the two attorneys, "that's enough from both of you." He leaned forward onto his desk to address them further. "Mr. Pembroke, while you do indeed have an affirmative defense, Mr. Collier is correct that you still have insufficient cause to warrant a dismissal of the charges against your client. Your defense will stand that the defendant did not intend to terrorize his children."

Pembroke straightened himself, clearly defeated, but intent on keeping a sense of dignity.

"As for you, Mr. Collier," the judge said, "…we've allowed the people to present their case and will allow you to continue this morning, but from what I can see on the surface, you're still standing on some very small shoulders. This had better be worth the court's time."

* * *

Nick and Judy sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes before the door to the judge's chambers opened as Scott exited, followed by a short, stout Welsh corgi that the couple assumed was the defense attorney. They allowed a bit of space between them to keep a professional appearance.

"I'm still not entirely convinced that your case _is_ worth the court's time," the corgi said.

"Listen, just because your case has a built-in defense doesn't make it infallible," Scott replied.

"It makes it more probable."

"I'll take my chances."

"Mr. Collier, my client is willing to sit down and discuss terms here. If we drop the charges, we can come to a reasonable settlement on the custody arrangement. It's far more worth our time than arguing over this ludicrous interpretation of the kidnapping statute."

"Let me put to you it this way: your client's lucky that he's not facing the murder charge. Now, I intend to put up a good fight. If you want to have any hope of winning this, you better do the same. I don't care how well 'built-in' you think your defense is."

There was a brief pause as the defense attorney looked Scott in the eye. "Well then, I guess I'll see you in an hour and a half then," he said.

"I look forward to it," Scott replied dryly. The defense attorney turned and made his way toward the door. As he passed the rows of wooden benches, he glanced at Nick and Judy, greeting them with a quick nod and a curt, "Officers," as he left the courtroom. Scott sighed and shook his head at his opponent's stubbornness, not that he could say anything about it. He would only be a hypocrite.

"Well," Scott said to the couple in the front row, "if nothing else makes this trial interesting, sparring with the defense should be entertaining enough."

The trio all laughed softly together as Scott pulled out the chair at his table and spun it around enough for him to face Nick and Judy.

"So what was that all about?" Judy asked.

"Just Mr. Pembroke's latest attempt to get an acquittal for his client," Scott replied. "He's been trying to make the argument that this trial is a misinterpretation of the kidnapping statute."

"Which is?" Nick asked.

"That a person is guilty of kidnapping when he abducts another person with intent to terrorize, to abbreviate it."

"So you have to find some way to prove that he terrorized the kids?" Nick asked.

"Yep," Scott replied.

"And I thought _our_ job could get pretty tough." Nick's comment elicited a chuckle from Scott and an eye-roll from Judy. For the next hour and a half, the trio talked about a few different things. Scott was mainly interested about Judy's time on the force, how long she and Nick had been partners, stories from their time together, and so on. As they chatted and the time ticked away, more spectators filled the benches of the courtroom, the spaces filling up rather quickly. As the courtroom filled, Judy looked over to the left side of the courtroom to see the defense attorney, Mr. Pembroke, sitting at the table opposite Scott's. Next to him sat a rather bulky leopard, who Judy assumed to be the defendant. Behind him were three other leopards, all female. Two of them were teenaged cubs.

At around 9:15, Nick and Judy were introduced to the Assistant District Attorney, a Shetland named Abigail MacCallan.

"Ah, glad you could make it on time, Abbie," Scott said shaking her paw.

"Same here," she replied. "Traffic was a nightmare."

Scott smiled before turning back to face the two police officers he invited. "Abbie, I'd like you to meet a couple friends. This is Sergeant Judy Hopps with the ZPD. She and I grew up together back in Bunnyburrow."

"Hi there," Abbie said taking Judy's paw. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Judy replied.

"And this is her partner and recent boyfriend, Officer Nick Wilde."

"Nice to meet you as well," Abbie said.

"Likewise," Nick responded.

"So you're Sergeant Hopps' boyfriend, huh? Well, better make sure no one bashes you for dating the boss," Abbie said, winking at them. Nick laughed nervously while Judy giggled and gave Nick a little jab in the side.

"Don't worry, I'll be keeping my boy in line," Judy said. Abbie laughed at the sergeant's quip before seating herself at the table next to Scott. Moments later the bailiff entered the courtroom with the jury.

"All rise," the bailiff called, bringing everyone to their feet, "the court will come to order, the Honorable Maxwell Wiley presiding."

Nick and Judy watched as an aging coyote garbed in a black robe took the bench. Taking a gavel in his hand and bringing it down on the block, he said, "Be seated."

All in attendance returned to their seats as the trial got underway.

"Let the record indicate that this is the second day of witness testimony for the case of the People v. William Leopold," the judge said. "This morning, the prosecution will conclude its case and the defense will be allowed to make its own."

The court reporter concentrated hard on the transcript in front of him as he entered the judge's statement into the record.

"Mr. Collier," the judge said, bringing Scott to his feet, "are the people ready to continue their case?"

"Yes, your honor," Scott replied.

"Very well, you may call your next witness."

"The people call Eleanor McClaw to the stand."

Judy turned around in her seat to see a slender, prim female leopard stand up and walk down the center aisle toward the witness stand. She stopped in front of the bailiff who was holding a Bible. Eleanor McClaw placed her left paw on the Bible and raised her right paw.

"Eleanor McClaw," the bailiff said, "do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth under pains and penalties of perjury?"

"I do," Eleanor replied as she took the witness stand. Scott approached her and began his cross-examination.

"Ms. McClaw," Scott said, "can you please explain to this courtroom your relationship to the defendant, Thomas McClaw, known currently by the alias 'William Leopold'?"

"I'm his ex-wife," Eleanor replied.

"And you are also the biological mother of his children, Susan and Alexis?"

"Yes."

"We've heard testimony that your daughters were the proverbial rope in a tug of war between you and your husband – a custody battle that last over a year. The court ruled that full custody of your daughters be granted to you, isn't that correct?"

"Yes it is."

"Can you explain to us what happened in the wake of the court ruling?"

Eleanor took a deep breath before proceeding. "March 12, 1999. Tom took the girls from school and disappeared. At the time, Susan was 3 and Alexis was 1. I never saw them again until just a few months ago. I tried to take the issue to court, but the judge said the incident was 'custodial interference'; not a serious crime. The private investigators I hired never found a trace of them."

Scott walked back to the table and took a blue document in his paw. "People's 7, your honor," Scott said, holding up the document. "Ms. McClaw, this is the family court justice's ruling granting you full custody of your daughters. Can you please read the highlighted passage?"

Eleanor took the paper from Scott and read aloud, _"Thomas McClaw is clearly more concerned about losing control of his family than he is about the welfare of his children."_ Scott took the paper back from Eleanor and placed it back on the table.

"Ms. McClaw," he asked, "when you were married to the defendant, how did he treat you?"

"Like a slave," Eleanor replied. "Everything had to be done his way. He instructed me how his shirts had to be folded, how the pantry had to be arranged, the 'right way' to fluff pillows, the 'right way' to fold towels."

"What happened if you didn't do it his way?"

"He instructed me again and again until I did it the way he wanted."

"Did he treat your daughters the same way?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Eleanor replied. "He controlled every part of their lives, telling them what to do, what to think, how to feel."

"How did he do this with very small children?"

"He would tell them things like, 'Only bad girls soil their diapers,' 'Only bad girls cry.'"

"From what age?"

"From birth."

Scott glanced curiously at William Leopold, shocked that a father would treat his children in such a way from infancy. "Did he think they could understand him?" he asked.

Eleanor shook her head. "It was a process. He started early and just ground them down. He never let up. If Susan was playing with a toy and didn't put it back exactly where he told her, he would break it in front of her and tell her, 'Good girls always mind daddy.'"

"How did Susan react?" Scott asked.

"After a while, she didn't make any more mistakes." Eleanor's face began to fall slightly, sadness becoming more apparent in her eyes.

"Was Susan afraid of him?" Scott asked softly.

"Of course she was…It broke my heart." A tear escaped Eleanor's eye as she looked at her daughter, the taller of the two leopard cubs. Scott nodded slowly before turning away.

"Your witness," Scott said to the defense attorney.

Mr. Pembroke promptly rose from his chair and approached Eleanor. "Did your husband hit you or the girls?" he asked. "Did he even threaten you with violence?"

"That wasn't his way of – "

"Yes or no?"

Eleanor stared at the stout corgi for a few moments before saying, "No."

"October 3, 1998," Pembroke said. "Were you arrested on a DUI charge?"

"I wasn't drunk," Eleanor said. "I was on medication."

"And this would be medication for chronic depression?"

"You'd be depressed too if you were married to –"

"Was your daughter Susan in the car with you at the time you were pulled over?"

"…Yes."

"Driving erratically while under the influence, whether of alcohol or prescription medication, with a three-year-old in the car, and you expect the jury to believe that it was your husband who was putting your children in danger by making them pick up their toys?! I…I have nothing further, your honor," Pembroke said, a disgusted look on his face as he glared at Eleanor. Leopold grinned in satisfaction as his attorney returned to the table.

* * *

"My dad's pretty strict, but he's fair," Susan Leopold, the eldest daughter, said from the witness stand.

"Does he control you?" Pembroke asked.

"Well, every family has rules," Susan said. "For example, he told my sister and me to always be polite, whether we felt like it or not. I don't think that's a bad thing."

Pembroke nodded at the response. "Did your father terrorize you and your sister?"

"No, sir."

"Are you afraid of him?"

"No, sir," Susan said beaming at her father. "We love him." Leopold smiled back and slowly nodded his head.

"Nothing further, your honor," Pembroke said returning to the table. Scott rose from his seat, a pair of reading lenses over his eyes as he looked over a few pages of notes.

Placing the notes back on his table and removing his glasses, he asked Susan, "In your family, is there really only one way to fold a towel?"

"Chaos in your environment leads to chaos in your mind," Susan responded, almost emotionlessly.

"Did your father tell you that?" Scott asked.

"Yes."

"Have you ever had a friend your father didn't approve of?"

"No," Susan replied.

"Why not?"

"I just haven't."

Scott paused for a moment, considering Susan's robotic answers.

"Have you ever read a book or seen a movie he didn't like?" Scott asked

"No," Susan answered.

"Does your stepmother entertain her friends at your father's house?"

"No."

"Does she have any friends or does your father take up all her time?"

"She takes care of us."

Scott took in the tone of her voice, which was still dry and emotionless. When asked about her father, she spoke of him in a loving voice, beaming at him from the stand, but when asked about her stepmother, she kept her eyes locked on Scott. When stating her role, she didn't speak softly or tenderly, but in the same tone as a voice synthesizer. But what was more was the way Susan seemed to imply that the role of 'caretaker of the family' was the only role that defined her stepmother. Scott's wife took care of their children, but that didn't disqualify her from having friends and a social life.

"Does your stepmother visit her own family?" Scott asked.

"Not that I know of," Susan said.

"Where do they live?"

"In the Rainforest District."

This quite confused Scott. Her family lived in the city and she never took time to go visit them?

"Have you ever met your stepmother's family?" Scott asked.

"No."

Scott furrowed his brow.

"Have you ever been to summer camp?"

"Children who got to camp have parents who just want to get rid of them."

"Have you ever been to slumber parties?"

"No."

Scott slowly walked toward the stand, his arms folded. "Did your father disapprove?" he asked.

"I didn't like being away from my dad," Susan said, starting to show some emotion as her voice wavered. Fear maybe? Of inconveniencing dad?

"When your father is displeased with you…are you afraid?"

"…I don't like to disappoint him," Susan replied a bit shakily.

"Is that because you know he'll keep at you and at you until you understand that his way is the only way and his needs are the only needs and you and your sister only exist for him as long as he can control you?"

"Objection!" Pembroke said, standing up at his table.

"Withdrawn," Scott said. "Nothing further, your honor." He returned to his table. Susan, her face still bearing a look of trepidation, looked at her father. His lips were curved into another satisfied smile as he slowly nodded to his daughter.

"This court will take a ninety minute recess for lunch," the judge said. "When we return, the defense will continue its case."

* * *

Nick, Judy, Scott and Abbie all walked out of the courthouse to make what they would of the court recess. Scott had offered to take them to a restaurant for lunch, an Italian trattoria just down the road from the courthouse. Abbie declined, saying she was going to take the chance to go back to the office and make a call. She offered to walk with the group out to the entrance of the building.

"The cub was like a robot," Abbie said.

"I'll say," Nick replied. "I mean, come on. 'Chaos in your environment leads to chaos in your mind'? Sounds less like a family and more like Jonestown without the Kool-Aid."

"No kidding," Judy said. "Also what was up with that whole thing about summer camp? I mean, I went to summer camp when I was a kid. That didn't mean my folks wanted to get rid of me."

"How'd the jury react?" Scott asked Abbie.

"Seven were stone-faced, two of them felt sorry for her, and three of them thought you were being mean," Abbie said.

"Hmm," Scott said succinctly as he looked ahead with a look of solid contemplation. As the four of them exited the building, Scott was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around, the others following in suit, as he was confronted by William Leopold's wife, Sylvia. While not as slender as the other leopard, Eleanor McClaw, nor as tall, she couldn't very well be considered plump. Average would have been the most accurate description.

"How could you do that to Susan?" she said to Scott. "You don't understand! Those girls are his whole life! And he's theirs!"

"Where does that put you?" Abbie asked. Sylvia turned to face her, unsure of how to answer.

"Mrs. Leopold," Scott said, "do you really not see what he's done to his children…and to you?"

Immediately, she turned and briskly walked back into the courthouse.

Nick shook his head at the leopardess's behavior. "That's gotta be the spookiest bunch of animals I've ever seen."

The four of them had returned to the courthouse after lunch. Nick and Judy managed to reclaim their spots in the front row and Judy now sat next to Scott's wife, Gail, whom they met up with at the trattoria during lunch. It was quite an unexpected surprise for Judy and the two shared a gleeful reunion. Of course, Gail was happy to hear about Judy's life, her time at the academy, her new career, her new boyfriend. In similar fashion to Scott, she gave Nick a warning as to what would happen if he ever hurt Judy.

"You better watch yourself, Nick," Scott told him. "You think I'm bad?" He nodded his head toward his wife. "Make her angry and sleeping on the couch is the _minimum_ punishment."

Gail sat to the left of Judy, all of them watching intently as the defendant took the stand.

"I couldn't leave them with Eleanor," William Leopold said. "She was a terrible mother."

"Can you describe how you lived after you took the children?" Pembroke asked.

"I turned down several good paying jobs so that I could work out of the house," Leopold replied. "I didn't want to leave the girls with a stranger after what they'd been through. I was there for them every minute of every day."

"Who took care of your daughters when you began dating your current wife?"

"Well, Sylvia understood that we came as a package, the girls and I. We rarely went out and if we did, we took the girls with us."

"Mr. Leopold," Pembroke said. "did you take your daughters in order to terrorize them?"

Leopold leaned forward and said very intently, "I took them in order to save them."

"Your witness," Pembroke said to Scott, returning to his seat. Scott stood and approached the stand.

"How much time have your daughters spent away from you?" Scott asked.

"Very little," Leopold replied.

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's a dangerous world, Mr. Collier, as I'm sure you know."

Scott nodded, bringing his personal philosophy of choice closer to the front of his mind. "Do you choose their friends for them?" he asked.

"I don't let my daughters run with the wrong crowd," Leopold replied.

"What happens when your daughters disagree with you?"

"I can't remember the last time my daughters and I had a disagreement."

"What happens when your wife disagrees with you?"

"…She never has."

Scott furrowed his brow and turned to face the jury. "Four people, no difference of opinion?" he said. "Is that because they're afraid to contradict you?"

"They respect my decisions," Leopold said firmly. "They know from experience that I'm likely to be right."

"What they know from experience is that you don't care about their opinions, isn't that right?"

"Objection!" Pembroke said.

"You don't care about their feelings, their concerns, their needs," Scott continued.

"That's enough, Mr. Collier," the judge said.

"I'd like to respond to that, your honor," Leopold said. He leaned forward and looked Scott in the eye. "My daughters are intelligent girls who know how to say, 'Yes, sir,' to an adult, how to organize their time wisely, and tidy their living spaces. Susan graduated valedictorian from her high school, has a full ride scholarship to Zootopia University, and Alexis brings home straight A's and is captain of her track team. And you have me on trial for being…a bad father, Mr. Collier?"

"You are on trial for kidnapping, Mr. Leopold, with intent to terrorize," Scott said sternly while Leopold scoffed and shook his head. "You harried your daughters into believing that their mother was evil incarnate, not so you could save them from her, but so that you could control their every thought and action."

Pembroke stood from his seat and said to the judge, "Have we moved on to the closing arguments?"

Scott glanced at Pembroke, then back to Leopold. "I have nothing further for this witness, your honor," he said, returning to his seat.

"Mr. Leopold, you may step down," the judge said. As he returned to his seat, the judge addressed the defense attorney. "Mr. Pembroke, please call your next witness."

"The defense rests, your honor," Pembroke replied, looking over at Scott with a sense of victory.

"Mr. Collier?" the judge said.

Scott stood and said, "The people have a rebuttal witness, your honor: Sylvia Leopold."

"What?!" Pembroke said. Nick and Judy looked at each other in confusion, and many other animals in the room were equally puzzled.

"Counsel, approach the bench," the judge said, prompting both Pembroke and Scott forward.

"Can you hear what they're saying, Carrots?" Nick asked. Judy turned her ears toward the bench and relayed the information back to Nick.

"Your honor, Mrs. Leopold has been in the courtroom throughout the trial," Pembroke said.

"I didn't know I'd be calling her," Scott responded.

The judge pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright, Mr. Collier. Just make sure that your questions don't touch on matters protected by spousal privilege."

Scott nodded before turning away from the bench. "The people call Sylvia Leopold," he said.

Sylvia rose timidly, receiving a glare from her husband as she approached the bench. Stopping in front of the bailiff, she placed her left paw on the Bible and raised her right paw.

"Sylvia Leopold," the bailiff said, "do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth under pains and penalties of perjury?"

"I do," she replied and took the stand. Scott slowly approached as he began his examination.

"Do you work outside the home?" Scott asked.

Sylvia smiled and brightly replied, "I know it's old fashioned, but I believe if there are children, the wife should be home to care for them. Children are a precious gift." Leopold continued his stone faced stare as she spoke.

"In your household, who handles the discipline?"

"Bill does," Sylvia replied cheerfully.

"Who handles the finances? Who deals with the workmammals – the electricians, the plumbers?"

"He does."

"Over the years, who's been responsible for taking the girls to and from school?"

"Bill."

"And who's taken them shopping for clothes and toys?"

"Bill."

Scott took his eyes away from Sylvia as he paced in front of the witness stand. "What exactly is your function in the family, Mrs. Leopold?" he asked. "Is it to fold the towels?"

Sylvia let out a brief sigh and looked toward her husband sitting at the defendant's table. "I – " she began to say before Scott stepped to the side to block her view.

"I'm afraid your husband can't tell you what to say right now," he said. He allowed a moment of silence while Pembroke began to take on a look of anxiety.

"How old was Alexis when you became her stepmother? Was she still in diapers?" Scott asked.

"Yes, she was only two," Sylvia responded, her cheerful veneer gone, replaced by a neutral expression.

"Did you ever hear the defendant tell her, 'Only bad girls soil their diapers'?"

"You don't understand," Sylvia replied, her new façade already beginning to crack. "From the outside it may seem strange, but Bill just worked miracles with the girls."

"In what way?"

"Well…" Sylvia's voice began to waver slightly and she could feel herself beginning to tremble. "When Susan was four, she learned how to tie her shoes in one afternoon.** How many children do that?"

"And how was this miracle accomplished?"

"She sat there for hours, tying and retying until her little claws made it work."

"A four-year-old?" Scott said. "…Why? Did Mr. Leopold tell her that daddy wouldn't love her anymore if she couldn't do it right by sundown?"

Sylvia shook her head, looking more and more desperate. "Both girls were intent on pleasing their father!" she said.

"I'll bet they were," Scott said, nodding his head. "Did the bow have to be exactly on center? Did the loops have to be exactly equal?"

"Your honor," Pembroke said.

"Mr. Collier, let's move it along," the judge said. Scott nodded to the judge and continued.

"Why haven't you and your husband had any children?" Scott asked Sylvia.

"We discussed it and decided against it," she answered, fear now very prevalent in her eyes.

"And this was a mutual decision? You really don't want cubs of your own?"

"Bill thought two was enough!"

"But what did you think?"

Sylvia looked at Scott, on the verge of tears. "In our family, we leave the important decisions to the one best equipped to make them."

"…I see," Scott said softly. As he saw her expression and listened to the tone in her voice as she answered the questions, he felt genuinely sorry for this poor leopardess. "How long has it been since you've seen your parents?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Sylvia responded in kind. "Quite some time…Bill doesn't like me to be away."

"Do you hear yourself? 'Bill thinks,' 'Bill wants,' 'Bill needs'? Do you think the defendant has ever once asked himself…what _you_ want…what _you_ need?"

Sylvia was struggling to hold her tears back as she answered, "There has to be a final authority, Mr. Collier."

Scott reeled back at her answer, an answer that may as well have been a confession. "Are you saying that the defendant had complete control over his family?" he said. "Did he constantly tell his daughters that they were bad, that they were stupid? Did the defendant continually terrify them with a threat to withhold his love unless they could live up to his insane expectations? Did William Leopold terrorize his daughters day after day, year after year, until they could no longer tell where he left off and they began?"

Sylvia tried her hardest, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't hold back. With tears finally breaking the surface she nodded her head. "Yes!"

"You stupid cow!" Leopold growled, abruptly rising to his feet.

"Mr. Leopold – " the judge said, before being cut off.

"Your honor!" Leopold shouted. "She can't…do this!" He began shaking and sweating profusely in an attempt to restrain himself. "I only married her so that my daughters would have…a mother."

Nick and Judy stared at the leopard in shock. He had practically just confessed. Gail cast her tender gaze on Sylvia, who was now gently sobbing after finally forcing herself to face reality.

"No further questions, your honor," Scott said and he gently guided Sylvia back to her seat. As soon as she was seated, Pembroke looked at Scott in utter defeat. He knew full well the implications of Leopold's outburst. His case had just been lost.

* * *

"Mr. Leopold," the judge said, "you have withdrawn your 'not guilty' plea to kidnapping in the first degree and entered a plea of 'guilty'. Is this correct?"

"Yes, your honor," Leopold replied.

The judge looked over the full details of the plea bargain that had been made in the recess that had followed Scott's rebuttal. It was now late afternoon and the courtroom was no longer as populated as it had been two hours ago, though Judy, Nick and Gail remained in the rows.

"In response," the judge said, "the people have agreed to an indeterminate sentence of ten to twenty years in a minimum security detention center?"

"Yes, with the stipulated condition, your honor," Scott said as he rose to his feet.

"In exchange for this sentence, William Leopold will surrender all claims to custody of the children to Eleanor McClaw?"

Leopold took a deep breath, knowing he had been defeated. "Yes, your honor."

"Very well," the judge replied. "This court is adjourned." With the strike of the gavel, the case came to a close. Scott returned to his table and began to pack his briefcase. As he did, he received a light punch on the shoulder and an impressed grin from Nick, as well as a gentle pat on the arm and reassuring smile from both Gail and Judy. Finishing up and closing his briefcase, he was approached by Pembroke.

"Mr. Collier," he said and slowly held out his paw, "that was one hell of a fight."

Scott shook his opponent's paw and replied, "You did a good job yourself. It was good sparring with you."

He nodded his head to Scott and walked out the door, and Scott watched as Leopold was led away in handcuffs.

* * *

*The Zootopia Courthouse and Zootopia court structure are based off of the New York City Supreme Court Building and New York court structure respectively. In New York, the Supreme Court is trial-level and the highest court is the Court of Appeals.

** I know shoes are not seen on animals in the movie, but there is still a "Hoof Locker" for some reason. So in this rendition, the younger animals wear shoes until the pads on their feet fully grow in.


	4. Chapter 4: Forming Bonds

Chapter 4: Forming Bonds

The group exited the courtroom as the trial came to a close. The light of the late afternoon sun was beginning to shift into a light amber-gold. Ending at just after 4:00 p.m. the trial had lasted for almost seven hours. The spectators that had bothered to stay for the sentencing after Leopold's outburst began to trickle out with Nick, Judy, Scott and Gail. Abbie had left before the sentencing, though she was present at the meeting with Pembroke and Leopold to finalize the terms of the plea bargain. Scott met the group at the door to the courtroom and took in a deep, tired breath. It had been quite a long day for all of them.

"Well," Nick said, "that was quite a dramatic finish there."

Scott smiled and said, "That, it was." He rolled his shoulders back and let out a silent grunt as he did. Gail placed a paw on his shoulder.

"You look tired, honey," she said tenderly.

"Well, this has been one of my bigger cases," Scott replied. "Feels good to finally wrap it up."

"I'll bet," Judy replied. "I gotta say you handled yourself like a pro in there." She gave him a light punch on the arm. "Looks like those seven years in school were worth it, huh?"

"I tend to let the results simply speak for themselves," Scott retorted with a smile, eliciting a chuckle from Judy. "Well, shall we head out?" Scott said as he led the group down the hall.

"So, Judy," Gail said as they walked, "I never got a chance to bring this up during lunch, but Scott and I were talking just the other night and we were hoping that maybe, if you and Nick are free, we might be able to have you two over at our place this weekend. It'd be really great to catch up with you."

Judy's ears perked at the suggestion. Hers and Nick's schedules did give them the weekends off and she would have certainly loved to be able to spend some time to relax with Scott and Gail. She turned to Nick, hoping he'd have the same opinion.

With a grin, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yeah, that sounds like something we'd like to do."

"Absolutely," Judy replied enthusiastically. "When were you guys thinking we could come?"

"Anytime this weekend really," Scott said. "Our schedules are pretty much free from tomorrow to Sunday, so honestly, if you wanted we could have you guys over tomorrow afternoon."

"Really?" Judy said.

"Yeah. Nothing too formal, just visit around for a while, have a barbecue, maybe watch a movie."

"What do you think, Nick?" Judy asked. "How's your schedule tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I think we can do that," Nick said. "Chief's letting me off early tomorrow anyway. As long as I submit my report for the trial."

"Huh?" Judy asked. "Report for the trial?"

"Yeah, the thing is I didn't actually have today off, so I had to market our little outing today as 'official business,' which means Chief's gonna be expecting a full report from me tomorrow morning before I leave."

"Are you serious, Nick?" Judy laughed.

"Hey, if it's a visit to a trial for a case that was handled by Precinct 1, it counts."

"What do mean, 'handled by Precinct 1'?"

"Shoulda read the case file, Carrots," Nick playfully chided. "Bogo assigned the case to Wolfram and Clawson. They couldn't make it to the courthouse today so I 'volunteered' to show up and write up the report for them."

"Let me guess," Judy teased, "'It's called a hustle, sweetheart'?"

"Not if I actually write the report tomorrow," Nick replied. "Sure, 'official business' wasn't the main reason for showing up, but if I do the write-up for Bogo, then I haven't done anything wrong. It's called a loophole, sweetheart." Nick flashed his signature grin while Judy rolled her eyes swatted him with the back of her paw.

"Where do you keep getting these ideas of yours?" Judy said.

"It's a gift," Nick replied.

Scott and Gail looked at each other in amusement. "Ever think about going to law school?" Scott joked as they stepped into the elevator.

The group reached the ground floor and made their way to the entrance. As they approached the door, Scott stopped as he laid eyes upon what he was dreading the entire day: the reporters. Scott knew that less than half of them worked for actual news companies. The rest belonged to the tabloids and were only there to try to make someone look bad in some way. The worse they looked, the higher the paycheck. Gail didn't look any more excited than Scott did. Unless these tabloid journalists hadn't done their homework, which was never the case, they would know she drafted up the psychological profile for Leopold and his daughter Alexis. They both took in a deep breath and opened the doors. As they both had expected, their path was instantly blocked by the reporters.

"Mr. Collier! Mr. Collier!" the reporters shouted, trying to get Scott's attention. Finally, one of them broke through with a microphone and thrust it up to Scott.

"Mr. Collier!" the reporter shouted, "How can you justify giving custody of the defendant's children to an unfit mother?!"

Scott instantly recognized the inflammatory question and that this was obviously a tabloid journalist looking for something juicy. Scott thankfully knew how to deal with these reporters, not that he enjoyed it. Calmly and coldly, Scott replied.

"Mr. Leopold was in clear violation of a custody order that had granted full charge of his children to his ex-wife. The evidence is clear that he is guilty of kidnapping with intent to terrorize his children and he willingly ceded all claims to custody as a condition of his plea bargain."

"What sort of precedent will this set for predator families in Zootopia?" another reporter asked.

"None," Scott replied. "The kidnapping statute has always remained the same and it will continue to be applied equitably to all the citizens of Zootopia, predator and prey alike."

"So you're saying that you showed no bias against Mr. Leopold because of his class as a predator?!" another reporter questioned.

"That's correct. I would have presented my case the same way had Mr. Leopold been prey."

The reporters turned their attention to Gail.

"Dr. Collier!" a reporter cried. "You drafted the psychological profile for both Mr. Leopold and his daughter. Is there anything in that report that might suggest that their behavior was inherent to predators?"

"No," Gail replied. "Mr. Leopold's profile shows no difference from a vast number of kidnappers' profiles currently on record and his daughter's profile is a textbook case of a victim of traumatic bonding. You won't find any common variations in any given demographic."

Returning to Scott, another reporter asked, "Mr. Collier, this city is still recovering from the aftermath of the Night Howler Incident. Aren't you concerned about the citizens' reaction to a predator being found guilty of first degree kidnapping?"

"My concern," Scott replied sternly, "is upholding the law and protecting the welfare of the victims of criminal activity. In this case, Mr. Leopold kidnapped and psychologically terrorized his daughters and the outcome of this trial will send a message to the people of Zootopia that this sort of crime will not be tolerated in any court of law. No further comments."

As the group tried to make their way through the sea of reporters, Nick and Judy were promptly stopped and bombarded with a many different questions.

"Officer Hopps, what is your take on the court's ruling?"

"Do you feel that predators have anything to fear from the Zootopia legal system?"

"Does the ZPD favor the rights of prey over predators?"

"Officer Wilde, do you believe the prosecution was biased against predators?"

"Do you feel that predators at the ZPD will need to worry about their jobs in the wake of this ruling?"

"Are you worried about how the court system might handle any cases assigned to predator police officers?"

The two of them were pressed with question after question, each designed to try to provoke them. Something that would make a juicy headline to display in the checkout line. Nick looked over the crowd of reporters to see several microphones in front of his girlfriend, who had a flustered look as she was pressed with more and more inflammatory questions.

Judy felt overwhelmed by the onrush of reporters asking all sorts of provocative questions about the rights of prey and predators. She glanced over to see Nick surrounded as well and overheard many of the questions being sent his way. Judy's gaze toward her boyfriend was broken when another microphone was shoved in her face.

Finally, Nick managed to wade through the crowd and found his way to Judy. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, addressing the reporters.

"Alright!" Nick shouted. "Listen, we came here to watch the trial as ZPD officers. We're not here to try to cause a big brouhaha about the rights of predators and prey. Whatever our opinions are, they're none of your business. Now if we're done here, aren't you guys late for a witch burning or something?" With that, Nick guided Judy back to the police cruiser in front of the courthouse. Scott's car was parked just behind. As they approached the curb, Scott smiled impressively at Nick.

"Nicely handled," Scott said. "I tell you, I wish _I_ had the luxury to just tell 'em to piss off."

"Well, beating around the bush gets boring pretty quick," Nick replied.

"Don't I know it?" Scott walked around to the driver's side of his car. "Anyway, I need to head back to the DA's office to give Adam a full rundown. I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Wouldn't miss it," Judy said.

Scott gave that friendly smile Judy knew him for. "Look forward to it then. It was great to see you again, Judy."

"You too, Scott," she replied. "Nice job in the courtroom. See you tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Glad you were able to make it too, Nick."

"Same here," Nick replied. "Thanks for keeping us entertained."

Scott laughed and said, "My pleasure." With that, he got into his car and made his way back to Savannah Central. Following in suit, Nick and Judy got back into the police cruiser and headed for Judy's apartment building.

"Well, that was a fun day, huh Carrots?" Nick said as he pulled onto the freeway.

"Mmhmm," Judy replied. "Scott sure knows his way around a courtroom, that's for sure. And from what I heard during our free time, it sounds like you two are getting along pretty well," Judy said playfully.

"Yeah," Nick said, "the guy's not too bad…you know, for an attorney." Judy giggled at his quip.

"I'm glad you guys are getting along, Nick," she said happily. Nick returned with a warm friendly grin. He had to admit that he really wouldn't mind being friends with Scott.

* * *

The rest of Nick and Judy's day wound down to a nice peaceful state as late afternoon faded into evening. Judy had invited Nick back to her apartment for a quiet dinner and some alone time in the living room, which he was happy to accept. They stepped inside the apartment and Judy began to make her way to her bedroom to change out of her uniform.

"You sure you don't wanna run home and grab something more casual?" Judy asked Nick, stopping just in front of her bedroom door.

"Nah," Nick replied, "I'm pretty good, Carrots. Just need to loosen my tie a bit."

Judy put on a playful smile. "Well, why don't I help you with that right now?" she said as she grabbed his tie and pulled him into a kiss. Their lips came together quickly, but gently and they held it as Judy slowly loosened his tie. As they came apart, she slowly traced a zigzag across Nick's chest with her finger before stopping at his tie and pulling it out the rest of the way. "Did that help?" Judy asked playfully.

"It did," Nick replied with a playful grin of his own. "Very much so."

Judy giggled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she draped his tie around his neck. "I'm gonna go run in and change real quick," she said. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll be out in a few minutes. You can turn on the TV if you want."

"Okay," Nick said as Judy ducked into her room. Once she shut the door, Nick removed the tie from around his neck and set it on the back of the couch before continuing to loosen up his uniform, discarding his heavy dark blue dress jacket and leaving his light blue long-sleeve button-up shirt. He undid the top two buttons to relieve some of the pressure around his neck and rolled the sleeves up to just above his elbows. Feeling less constricted and allowing some air to flow through his clothing, he took up Judy's offer to turn on the TV. Though, what came up on the screen when he hit the power button was less than amusing.

Judy heard the TV flicker on from behind her door just as she began to put her uniform away. She was now dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. She took a moment to revel in the cool air that graced her fur as she hung up her uniform and closed the closet door before going out to rejoin Nick. She opened the door and stepped into the living room to see Nick staring at the TV, one paw in his pocket and the other paw holding the remote. As she looked at him, Judy found herself captivated by, of all things, Nick's outfit. She didn't know why, but his appearance – his tucked-in blue shirt, the unbuttoned collar, the blue pants and black belt – just seemed to capture her attention. She had a hard time putting her finger on what exactly was so attractive about it. It wasn't anything special, but it just made him look more…mature maybe? No, that wasn't exactly it, but it was close. The only thing she could confidently say was that Nick was extremely handsome in what he had on. Even if she didn't know why that was, a little voice in Judy's mind told her in that moment, _'Don't question it. Just love it.'_

She took a few steps further toward Nick and as she came around the side of the couch, she could see him scowling at the screen and slowly shaking his head. A bit puzzled and a little concerned, she turned her attention to the screen. The TV was turned to ZBC News1 where two antelopes were sitting at a glass-top desk. In the corner of the screen was a picture of Scott with several microphones being held up to him and the Zootopia Supreme Court Building in the background.

" _Geez, those leeches don't waste any time getting their story published,"_ Judy thought. She knew there was only one reason for Scott to be on the news.

"Yeah, I mean we're hearing him say that this won't set any precedents for predators," one of the antelopes said, "but, I mean come on. This is a dad taking his kids from a bad mother and the DA's office just jumps right down his throat!"

"And I completely agree!" said the other antelope reporter. "I mean, just look at the penal law for Zootopia. It basically states that the defense for first degree kidnapping is that the kidnapper was a relative and that he only wanted to get control of them. So, let's say for a second that this William Leopold wanted to get control of his kids and that's it; that he didn't take them to protect them. Well then, the penal law would still protect him in that case, but here, Collier just took the penal law and threw it out the window!"

"And just the lack of concern for the attitudes of the people in the city is appalling! This city is still recovering from one of the biggest cases of institutionalized hate that this city has ever faced, but instead of recognizing this, he just goes all out to make sure a predator is put behind bars for something that honestly isn't that big a deal!"

Nick shook his head again and quickly changed the channel. The next channel down, FOX News2, wasn't any less irritating. Two hares and a bunny sat together behind a large semicircular desk.

"So, what Collier said here is that there wouldn't be any precedent for prosecution against predators, but honestly maybe there ought to be," said one of the hares.

"And as far as his wife's psychological profile of the leopard," the second hare said, both Nick and Judy feeling their tempers flare at the way Leopold was simply referred to as 'the leopard', "I mean, yeah she says that there wasn't nothing inherent to predators in his behavior, but let's look at the stats for a second. The majority of mammals arrested in this country are predators and about seventy five percent of arrests in Zootopia alone are made against predators. And the reason for that, as far as I can see, is that predators have a larger history of criminal activity than prey. So, I really don't see how Dr. Gail Collier could have neglected to include that in her report."

"You know, I would also question," the bunny said, "how Scott Collier might have presented his case had he not had a predator police officer sitting right behind him in the courtroom."

With that last comment, Nick snarled under his breath and turned the TV off. He soon became aware of someone else's presence next to him as the image on the screen quickly vanished and he turned to see Judy looking just as stunned as he was at what they had just witnessed. They locked eyes and Nick softened his angered look and gave a scoff.

"Well," he said softly, "who needs juries when you've got journalists, huh?" He put on as playful a smile as he could for Judy, though it wasn't his best performance.

Still, Judy tried to help him make light of the situation. Rolling her eyes, she teased, "Maybe next time you should try a cartoon channel."

Nick smirked and replied, "Those _were_ cartoon channels."

Judy giggled at the quip before pulling Nick into a hug. They stood there in silence, enjoying each other's warmth and presence, Judy resting her head against Nick's chest. He loved her tender touch, the feel of her soft fur, her little heartbeat that lightly thumped against him as they held each other. That hug, that one simple gesture, soothed his anger from what he'd just seen on the news and all his attention was on his little bunny. He brought his paw up and began to softly stroke her ears, causing her to coo and press herself further into his embrace.

"Having a nice time there, Carrots?" Nick asked amusingly.

"Mmhmm," Judy replied, tightening the hug. "Yes I am."

Nick smiled and placed a kiss on her head. As they continued to embrace, Nick felt Judy's stomach rumble against him. Judy's eyes widened in embarrassment and her ears shot up. Nick leaned back from the hug and saw Judy's face begin to redden.

"Someone getting hungry?" Nick teased. Just then, the two of them heard his own stomach rumble louder and lower than Judy's. His sly smile quickly dropped and his eyes went as wide as Judy's had. The expression didn't stay long as the two of them looked into each other's eyes and broke into laughter.

"Sounds like I'm not the only one," Judy replied. "I guess we'd better get dinner going."

"Lead the way, Carrots," Nick said as he followed Judy into the kitchen.

* * *

Scott pulled his car into the driveway of his house, a two story Cape Cod style home in a coastal suburb several miles from the city center. He turned the engine off, shut his eyes, and allowed himself a few minutes to sit in silence. He knew his job could get rough, but now it was really beginning to wear on him. The political correctness issues that followed the Night Howler Incident only served to make his job harder and harder with every conviction. Nearly every case that made it to the courtroom was bombarded by political extremists from both sides. Even if he didn't win, there was always some nutcase waiting for him on the steps of the courthouse ready to berate him for _daring_ to even bring the case before the grand jury. So far, he was able to shrug and reassure himself that the backlash was just from a small group of "narrow-minded, dogmatic bastards." But today was a different story. Whoever those reporters were, they seemed bent on inflaming the mammals of Zootopia in whatever way they could and to whatever degree was possible.

Almost every radio station on the way home was occupied by someone giving their input on the outcome of the trial. By the time Scott found a station giving an unbiased opinion of his actions in the courtroom, he was too fed up with the extremists to bother listening in and just shut the radio off.

The sound of the radio was replaced by the low rumble of the engine as Scott silently muttered, "Fuck it all." Thankfully, one silent curse was typically all it took to relieve most of his frustrations.

Now Scott sat in blissful silence, letting the rest of his stress melt away as best he could. Feeling far more relaxed, he took a long, deep breath before collecting his briefcase and stepping out of his car. He peeked inside the windows as he approached the door to see movement inside the house. He smiled as he picked up the shadows of his wife, who had beaten him home, and his two children.

Scott opened the door and called out, "Hello?"

Immediately, he received a response as his little four-year-old daughter cried out, "Daddy!" and ran toward the front door. She was followed closely behind by his six-year-old son.

Scott dropped his briefcase as his two pups rounded the corner and he knelt down and opened his arms as they ran into his embrace. As he caught them, he allowed them to knock him over, pulling them down with him, all of them laughing as they fell.

"Oh, geez!" Scott laughed as he fell back. "You two are getting big!" He ruffled their fur as he held them in his arms. Having heard all the commotion in the entryway, Gail appeared from around the corner, arms folded and smiling at the dog pile at the door. Scott looked up and smiled at his wife before standing and scooping up his daughter, Emily, in his arms. He walked up and gave Gail a quick peck on the lips while his son, Matthew, clung to him by his pants leg.

"Hope these two have been on their best behavior so far," Scott said to Gail.

"As always," she replied.

Scott smiled and refocused on his children. "Did you two have a fun time at daycare today?"

"Uh-huh," Matthew replied. "Teacher showed us how to paint!"

"Oh, did she?" Scott said smiling.

"They had the dirty hands to prove it," Gail said, causing Scott to chuckle.

"Can we show you what we painted, daddy?" Emily asked.

"Absolutely," Scott said. "I wanna see how much of a masterpiece my little girl made." He gave her a peck on the nose, causing her to giggle, before letting her down next to her brother. Immediately, the two ran to the back of the house to retrieve their artwork, both of them bent on being the one to show their painting to dad first.

Scott and Gail smiled at their kids before returning their attention to each other and sharing a longer kiss. The two border collies broke apart and listened to their kids on the other end of the house arguing about who could show daddy their painting first.

Scott smiled and held Gail close to him. "Hope they haven't given you too hard a time," he said.

"Oh, you know," Gail replied, "you get used to it after a while."

Soon, the two pups came bounding down the hallway, each with two poster-sized sheets of paper in hand.

"Daddy, look what I drew!" Emily shouted.

"No, look at mine first!" Matthew replied.

Scott smiled and shook his head and said, "How about you both show me together?"

Quickly, the two held up their paintings in front of their father. Emily jumped up and down, shouting, "Look, daddy! See what we did?"

They were simple little kid paintings that any preschooler or kindergartener would draw. Emily's was a small pony with a rainbow in the background and small paw prints adorning the border, while Matthew's was a big cartoonish submarine with blue waves above it and a few bubbles surrounding the vessel. Scott stared at the paintings in mock wonder.

"You two drew these?" he asked, his eyes wide in amazement.

"Uh-huh," Emily said.

"Nooo," Scott replied, narrowing his eyes. "These are too good to have been drawn by two little pups."

Matthew and Emily giggled and said, "We drew them, daddy! We really drew them!"

Scott smiled and took the paintings in his paws. "Well, my goodness," he said, turning to his wife who was now busy in the kitchen. "Honey, I think we have a couple little artists in the family."

Gail walked over next to her husband and looked at her children's projects. "Well, I think we do," she said. "And I think something this good deserves a little reward."

"Maybe something like somebody's favorite dessert?" Scott said, smiling at his children.

Emily and Matthew squealed in excitement as they ran into Scott's arms. He pulled them in close and kissed their heads before releasing them to give their mother a hug.

"Why don't you kids go hang up your pictures in your room?" Scott said.

"Okay, dad," Matthew said. "When's dinner, mom?"

"It'll be a little while, Matty," Gail said. "You and your sister can go play out in the backyard until it's ready, okay. But make sure you do what daddy says and put your paintings away first."

"Okay!" The two pups ran back to their rooms while Scott smiled at them. Gail placed a paw on his back prompting him to pull her in close.

"You wanna go get changed, honey?" she asked.

"Sure thing. Need any help with dinner when I get back?" Scott replied.

"I wouldn't mind."

Scott gave her a peck on the cheek before retreating to the bedroom to change out of his suit and tie and into something less restrictive. A few minutes later, he returned to the kitchen dressed in a grey t-shirt and tan shorts. He looked out the window into the backyard to see Emily playing on the swing set while Matthew swung a plastic sword at a horde of imaginary goblins emerging from the waterfront. With a beam, he turned to his wife who was pulling pieces of chicken breast out of a pot of boiling water and placing them in a bowl.

"Could you go ahead and shred these up for me, hon?" she asked.

"Sure thing," Scott replied, taking the bowl from her and fishing for a pair of forks from the cutlery drawer. "What's for dinner by the way?"

"Everyone's favorite: my shredded chicken lasagna."

"And that earns you another kiss." Scott wrapped his arm around Gail's waist from behind, leaned over her shoulder and rewarded her as such. She laughed through her closed lips as her husband lingered for several seconds. They came apart and he placed another kiss on her forehead.

The lasagna was a recipe that had been handed down from Gail's grandmother and it had been one of Scott's favorites since they had started dating. It wasn't too long before it became the kids' favorite as well. Gail had a feeling that Scott had heard just as much, if not more of the "news coverage" of his trial than she had and it couldn't have been a pleasant experience for him. The least she could do was give him a pleasant meal that evening.

"So to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?" Scott asked.

"To your daughter," Gail said. "She wouldn't stop asking for it most of the way home."

"A budding artist _and_ a chef-in-the-making, huh?" Scott joked. Gail smiled softly back at him.

"That and…well, it just kinda looks like you had a rough end to your day," she said.

Scott looked back to see Gail's soft expression. He gave her a half-smile, aware of what she meant. "Yeah, you and me both," he replied quietly, a hint of fatigue in his voice, before returning to his job of shredding the chicken.

"You feeling okay, Scott?" Gail asked softly.

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Scott said warmly. "Really"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. It's not like I haven't dealt with these kinds of whack-jobs before."

Gail remained unconvinced. There was something in her husband's voice that seemed a little off. He was right that he'd had run-ins with the tabloids before, but when he came home afterwards he was usually prepared with a few jokes, some sort of fun to poke at them behind their backs. Tonight though, just the slightest reference to the ordeal at the courthouse seemed to drain him. Gail wanted to know more, but felt that it would be best to let the matter rest for a while.

"Ok, honey," she said softly as she placed a kiss on Scott's cheek, causing him to beam brightly at her. The two returned to their tasks, a few moments of silence setting in before Scott spoke back up.

"Oh, hey, are the kids all packed for going to my parents' house tomorrow?"

"Are you kidding?" Gail replied. "Once they heard they were going to stay with their grandparents for the weekend, they couldn't get their suitcases out fast enough."

Scott laughed at the comment, agreeing that that did sound like his kids' normal reaction. "Glad to know they're excited," he said. "You're folks are still open for having them over next month, right?"

"Mmhmm," Gail replied. "They're actually gonna be out of town the first weekend, but they'll be home the weekend after."

"Okay, sounds good. By the way, do you need me to pick up anything on my way home for Nick and Judy's visit tomorrow? I think I oughta be back in town by the time they come over."

"Umm," Gail thought for a minute. "You know, the only thing I can think of right now is charcoal, but I can do a quick run-through of the fridge to see if we need anything. I can text you a list if you want."

"That's fine."

"Oh!" Gail said, "Make sure you pick up a few veggie burgers tomorrow for Judy."

"That's right!" Scott said, snapping his fingers. "Almost forgot she's vegetarian. Thanks for reminding me."

"Why don't you go ahead and put it in your notes on your phone?"

Scott immediately pulled out his phone and quickly typed in the words 'charcoal' and 'veggie burgers' into his notes.

"What time should we expect them again?" Gail asked.

"Umm, probably early afternoon, maybe 11:00, 11:30," Scott replied. "Like Nick said, it really depends on when he gets off work, but those police reports don't take too much time to write up." Scott set the bowl of shredded chicken down next to Gail as she started working on the sauce. She handed Scott a couple tomatoes and a knife. He took them and started working on dicing the produce.

"What time do you think you'll be back from dropping the kids off?"

Scott quickly did the math in his head. "Umm, well we're gonna be leaving pretty early tomorrow, and taking into account chatting with my folks and swinging by the store on the way home…I think I oughta be home about 12:00ish. So, Nick and Judy actually might beat me by an hour or so, but I'll be home pretty close behind them."

"Okay," Gail replied. "That doesn't sound too bad. We'll try not to have too much fun while you're out."

Scott smirked at his wife and said, "Let me guess: no promises?"

"You know me to well," Gail teased. Her husband laughed and shook his head. "So," Gail continued, "our Judy has a boyfriend now, huh?"

"Yeah, she does," Scott said, smiling back at her.

"Well, isn't that exciting?! How long have they been together?"

"From what I understand this is really just day two for them."

"Really," Gail said. "Well, how about before that? Did they go on any dates before yesterday?"

"Not sure," Scott replied.

"Well, how long has Judy been interested in him? Or how long has Nick been interested in her?"

"That I don't know either, honey." A silence suddenly fell on the kitchen and Scott had the strong feeling that someone was staring at him. He turned to his wife to see her staring at him with a disbelieving grin on her face.

"What?" Scott said, and Gail just shook her head. "What?" Scott asked again, chuckling as he did.

"You had the whole day with Judy and Nick and you didn't ask how long they've been interested in each other?" Gail said.

Scott laughed at his wife and said, "Well, honey, I guess it didn't come up. And I think I should remind you that most of my day was occupied by the trial."

"Well, how long did you guys have before the trial?"

"About an hour and a half."

"Seriously, Scott?" Gail said.

Scott looked at her in confusion. "What?!" he said.

"An hour and a half and you couldn't get around to asking how long they've actually been going out together? How long they've been interested?"

"Well, I guess not," Scott laughed.

"You couldn't have brought it up during lunch?" Gail said.

"Hey, you were with us. Why didn't _you_ bring it up?" Gail smirked and smacked Scott with one of the hand towels.

"Scott, how can you be chatting with someone for an hour and a half like that and not get around to finding out how long she and her new boyfriend have been interested in each other?"

"Because, Gail, it wasn't the first thing on the list," Scott replied. "When I saw Judy, I wanted to know what her time on the force has been like, how many cases she's been involved in, how long she and Nick have been partners in the ZPD. Going in chronological order. Sadly, I didn't get to their relationship. Besides, you and I have been married for eight years and you're still telling me new stories from when we were in college. So if I haven't learned everything about you by now, how much can I realistically learn about Judy in a day?"

Gail was about to say something, but stopped, thinking Scott might have had a valid point. Still, she wasn't going to admit it. Instead she rolled her eyes and scoffed, and turned back to fixing dinner. Scott laughed as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled himself toward her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"You're so funny, you know that?" Scott said as he held her close. Gail twisted herself around to look him in the eye.

"And you're real lucky you're cute," she said. The two smiled and shared a peck on the lips. "If you're done with the tomatoes, why don't you go see if the weather's on," Gail lightly scolded.

"Yes, ma'am," Scott replied with a bright smile. He released Gail and made his way to the living room where he flipped the TV to the evening news. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as he tuned in just in time for the weather report to begin.

"So, I hope everyone has plans to be outside this weekend," the meteorologist said, "because we're looking at some pretty clear skies around Zootopia for the next few days. Further west around New York City we're looking at partly cloudy, but nothing heavy. Also the temperature for this weekend is looking very nice. Friday's looking at a high of 73, low of 64. Saturday is a high of 72, low of 61. Sunday we'll see a bit of a rise in temperature, going to a high of 76 and a low of 68. But in general, this weekend is looking like it's gonna be really nice."

Scott and Gail were happy to hear that the weekend was providing ideal weather for their get-together.

"Back to you, Jim," the meteorologist said.

"A huge story that's been circulating through the city tonight, a storm of controversy has been brewing over a kidnapping trial that took place this afternoon. A leopard by the name of William Leopold has been sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for kidnappi–"

"Ah, no you don't!" Scott said as he quickly picked up the remote and changed the channel. The screen went blank before bringing up a black and white background of what appeared to be stars. The background was soon accompanied by repetitive surreal music as a narrator began speaking.

" _You unlock this door with the key of imagination,"_ the voice said. _"Beyond it is another dimension –"_

"This'll work," Scott said as he sat down on the couch.

" _a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into…"_

* * *

Nick stood in front of the kitchen sink in Judy's apartment, helping to clean up from their dinner together, while Judy looked through her stack of DVD's for the movie she had chosen for the night. The couple had a nice light meal that Judy was surprised that Nick was familiar with. Judy had planned one of her favorites from home, spaghetti noodles tossed with fresh tomatoes, chopped basil, feta cheese and olive oil. She was hoping Nick would approve of a light vegetarian dish and was happy to find out that his mother had made him the same thing when he was a kit and that it was one of his favorites. The only real difference was that his mother usually added a splash of white balsamic vinegar to the tomato mix. Judy had to admit that it added a nice pungent flavor.

The couple sat at the table, just talking about whatever came to mind. Judy talked about how things were with her friends at work, a call she'd gotten from her sister a couple of nights before, the idea of going to the next big Gazelle concert. Nick talked about his own social circle at work, how things with his old friend, Finnick, were going, catching Bogo using the Gazelle dance app.

There was something different about the atmosphere that Judy had noticed this time. A casual evening together wasn't really anything new between her and Nick. They would go grab dinner together after work and they would sit and chat like they were doing now. But there was something that felt more right, that made Judy happier. She knew it had to do with the fact that she and Nick were now in a relationship, but it was more specific than that. There was no special occasion. They weren't gazing into each other's eyes or coming up with little pet names for each other. They were just talking. And yet Judy felt her heart fluttering through the whole conversation. The fact that she couldn't understand why only reminded her of just how new she was to being in a relationship.

While Nick washed the dishes in the kitchen, Judy pulled out the movie they had picked, or rather the movie _she_ had picked. The couple had a previously established tradition of movie night that had begun after Nick had joined the force, but Judy was especially excited for tonight. She had finally gotten Nick to watch one of her favorites with her, _Wrangled_.3 Judy had tried to get Nick to watch it with her in the past with no success, but even though she was new to being in a relationship she was well aware of the power of persuasion that came with being a girlfriend.

As she opened the DVD case and turned on the TV, she asked Nick, "How's it going in there?"

"Pretty much done," Nick replied. "Uh, so where do I put these away?" he asked gesturing to the small stack of clean dishes.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Judy replied. "You can just leave them there for now, sweetheart. I'll put 'em away tomorrow."

A sly grin spread across Nick's muzzle and he let out a curious "Hmm" while he dried his paws.

"What?" Judy said as she returned his smile.

Nick leaned over the counter toward Judy and said, "Oh, nothing, just the fact that it's only day two and you're already using pet names."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"You mean you didn't notice the word 'sweetheart' just a second ago?" Nick teased.

Judy's smile widened and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Nick. Like we're not used to using that one on a regular basis."

"I didn't say we weren't used to it," Nick replied. "It's just the way you said it."

"What's that supposed to – " Judy caught herself and felt herself begin to blush. She had used that word with Nick before, but not like that. Not as a term of endearment.

Nick snickered at the way his bunny looked, like a deer in the headlights. He walked around the counter and gently wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the head.

"You know, Carrots, sometimes you're just too easy a target," he said and kissed her nose. Judy giggled and gave him a light shove.

"Dumb fox," she said as they smiled at each other.

"As advertised."

As Judy leaned into his embrace, a little thought in the back of her mind began to speak up. She looked up into Nick's eyes and he could see a tone of concern in hers.

"You okay, Carrots?" he asked.

"Actually…I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"What for?"

"Just…what happened at the courthouse earlier, what we saw on the news…I just want to know if you're feeling okay after all of that."

Nick's eyes widened at Judy's inquiry. He was especially taken by how softly she spoke, how concerned she looked. This wasn't a casual 'You okay?' moment at the office. Nick's face softened and he pulled Judy closer.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Judy asked.

"Mmhmm. It's not the first time I've run into those kinds of mammals. Besides, no one really takes them seriously. Bet you by next week, they'll be clawing for another half-baked story."

"Hmm, I guess so," Judy purred, her head buried in Nick's chest. Nick leaned back and looked into Judy's eyes.

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart," Nick said. "I'll be fine."

Judy smile and caressed Nick's cheek. Suddenly she took on a soft, playful grin.

"So, slick Nick's using pet names now, huh?" she kidded. "And it's only day two. I didn't know foxes had such a soft side."

Nick retorted with his own cunning look and said, "Well, it's not like we aren't used to it, are we?"

Judy cocked her eyebrow and shook her head. "Touché, slick."

They returned to their embrace and held it for several minutes, beginning to slowly rock back and forth. After a while, Judy broke the silence.

"You sure you're okay, Nick?" she muttered from their embrace.

"Mmhmm," he said. "I am, sweetheart."

Judy smiled leaned up to give Nick a peck on the cheek. "So, ready for movie night?" she teased.

"And suddenly I'm less okay," Nick said dryly.

"Oh, it's not that bad," she said as she went to put the movie in.

"I know. I just like giving you a hard time."

After ducking to avoid a spare pillow lying by the TV, Nick took a spot on the couch and placed his arm up on the back to invite Judy into the spot next to him. Once the movie was in and playing, she bounded onto the couch and tucked herself into Nick's side.

He had to admit that the opening made it seem like the movie wouldn't be too bad, just a typical Disney chick flick. It was certainly nothing he couldn't handle.

The movie brought them into the early hours of the evening, the last remnants of sunlight having been replaced by the artificial light of the streets below. The only light in the apartment that was left was from the TV and the lamp that stood on the small table next to the couch. Nick had to admit that he had enjoyed this movie night more than he had expected. While he wasn't planning to see it again, there were a few moments where he had laughed and a few of the songs were pretty entertaining.

As the end credits rolled, Nick looked down at Judy who was now leaning her head against him, eyes shut.

"How you doing there, Carrots," Nick said quietly.

"Mmm…still awake," Judy mumbled. "Tired though."

Nick smiled and brought his paw up to stroke her ears. Again, Judy let out a soft, pleasant coo and nuzzled herself closer against her fox.

"I think I might have found your weak spot, fluff," Nick said smiling.

"Mmhmm," was all Judy could reply, too tired to respond and simply content on enjoying Nick's gentle touch.

"Hey," Nick whispered, "I think we should call it a night."

"Mmhmm," Judy replied, but remained where she was, keeping Nick from moving. When he tried to nudge her to get her to move, she just slumped back into his side. Though, she was doing a poor job of hiding her mischievous grin.

"Sly bunny," Nick whispered, "but sadly not sly enough." In a smooth motion, he stood up from the couch and scooped up Judy in his arms. She instinctually wrapped her own arms around his neck as he carried her to her bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed, admiring how beautiful she looked. When she was asleep, even half asleep, she looked so peaceful, so tender…so cute. _"I wonder how long it'll take for her to let me call her that,"_ he said to himself. Judy began fumbling for the edge of the covers, and Nick helped pull them back for her and helped her get comfortable.

"I better get going. Don't want the chief chewing me out for getting in late tomorrow," he said.

"Okay," Judy purred, her eyes still closed and her head resting against the pillows.

"I'll be around to pick you up at around 11:00." He then placed a peck on her cheek. "Goodnight, Carrots."

He stood to leave the bedroom, but stopped when he felt Judy's paw take hold of his. He turned around to see her staring up, her eyes half lidded. Those eyes told Nick what she wanted. He returned to her bedside and gave her a long, soft kiss. Their paws remained in each other's as they allowed their fingers to interlace. Their lips came apart and Judy cupped Nick's cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," she whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

The sun began to rise over Zootopia, shining through the spaces between the skyscrapers, through the shutters of Judy's bedroom window and onto her eyes. She stirred at the sudden and irritating change in light and reluctantly rose from her sleep. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stretched out her limbs, welcoming the sweet sensation that accompanied it. As she began to come to her senses, a slight moment of panic overtook her when she noticed that there was sunlight outside and she quickly checked the clock on her nightstand. Reading the time 7:46 AM, she felt a sense of relief fill her. She hated sleeping in until anything past 8:30. It felt like she was being robbed of her day then forced to rush to save whatever was left.

Letting out a long yawn, she got her day going, taking things nice and easy. At least the slow and relaxed start to the day was something she enjoyed on her days off. She lazily sauntered into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee before taking a nice long shower. Above everything else, that was what Judy loved about her days off, just being able to relish the feeling of soothing hot water running through her fur.

Stepping out of the shower, her still damp fur wrapped in a bathrobe, she poured herself a cup of coffee and popped a few slices of bread in the toaster while beginning to fry up two eggs. As per her usual routine on her mornings off, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She returned to keeping an eye on her breakfast and listened idly to the news. While she listened, her ears flattened against her head and she scowled as she heard that the top story for that morning was still about Scott and the trial they had attended.

"Just forget about it, Judy," she told herself, returning her attention to fixing her food. In the background, the news continued regurgitating information about the controversy of the case, and how people had been voicing their negative opinions all over social media. Judy caught only about half of what was said, not that she cared. She idly buttered her toast and set an egg on each slice while she thought about the plans she and Nick had for the day. And if there was one thing that she hoped for, it was a good chance for Scott and Nick to bond. She was happy to see how well they were getting along thus far, and she very much hoped that some time outside the office might help to jumpstart a friendship between the two.

She sat down at the table, ready to eat, but her ears perked when she heard something on the news that she wasn't expecting.

" _New information has been submitted this morning that suggests that the accusations against Prescott Collier as being biased against predators may be unfounded."_

Judy went still for a moment, a fork full of fried egg up to her mouth, as she lifted her head to listen to what was being reported.

" _Documents have recently surfaced showing a pattern in the cases that were assigned to Prescott Collier during the Night Howler Incident which took place only months ago. During the Incident, thirteen criminal cases were assigned to Collier. Of those thirteen, eight were based on accusations against predators, while the remaining five were crimes committed by prey. The recent records indicate that of the eight predator cases, only one of made it to trial. The rest were dropped without prosecution by Collier due to a lack of evidence. The remaining five prey cases were reported to have all gone to court with each case receiving a verdict of guilty."_

Judy sat back in her chair with a satisfied smirk. "Biased against predators, my tail," she said, crossing her arms. "Wonder how those lunatics are gonna respond to that one." She scoffed at the question while returning to her breakfast and saying to herself "Probably with some half-baked conspiracy theory."

She shrugged and blew it off. At least the truth was out now and there was no need to dwell on it anymore. She finished her meal and returned to her bedroom to throw on a few casual clothes, opting for her pink button-up shirt and a pair of white shorts.

As soon as she had changed, she returned to the living room and bean flipping through channels trying to find something to pass the time before Nick came to pick her up. She glanced at the clock hanging on her wall to see that it read 9:06 am. Something in Judy's mind groaned rather loudly. It wasn't like her to lounge around in the morning. On any other day off, she'd be dressed in more athletic clothes and out the door to do a morning run through the park. For a moment, she considered going back to her room and throwing something on for a quick jog.

" _It doesn't have to be a long one,"_ she thought. _"I should be back in time."_

"Yeah, when has that ever happened?" she said to herself. She had lost count of how many times she had been late meeting up with Nick for his lunch break because she had lost track of time while out on a run. She didn't know why, but being out on a run was almost hypnotic, like her own unique meditation.

With only two hours to spare before she expected to be heading over to Scott's house, Judy figured it was too much of a risk and returned her attention to the screen. She stopped scrolling when she came across a string of re-runs of The Trotting Dead4, one of her favorite TV shows. At least that would be less painful than the plethora of cheap soap operas was usually being offered at this time of day.

She sat down on the couch as the opening credits rolled, she giggled inwardly at the memory of Nick's reaction of when he had found out about her interest in the show. He had laughed at first, assuming it was a joke.

"Wait…you're serious?" he said.

"Yeah," Judy replied. "…Is there any reason I'd be lying?"

"No, no, I just never woulda thought that…"

"A _cute little bunny_ would be into Trotting Dead?" Judy finished, putting her paws on her hips and smirking.

"First of all, last time I called you cute was about five months ago," Nick said. "Second, I apologized for it. Third, you're never gonna let me live that one down are you?"

"Not for a while, slick," Judy teased.

Judy smiled at the memory and turned her attention to the screen which was showing the first episode of the first season.

The end credits began rolling and Judy looked at the clock: 10:01 am. "I guess I've got time for another episode," she said. But just as the opening scene for episode two began to play, she received a knock at the door. Her ears perked and she double checked the clock and checked the time on her phone to make sure she wasn't behind by an hour. _"Nick said 11:00, right?"_ she thought. Her phone also read just past 10:00 am. She stood up from the couch and went to open the door. She was greeted by a red fox standing at the door with an unbuttoned light blue shirt, a grey t-shirt underneath and tan pants. She looked up and met is half-lidded, emerald gaze.

"Glad to see you're already dressed for the occasion, Carrots," he said.

Judy arched her eyebrow and said, "Okay, now I know for a fact you're not really Nick Wilde."

"Oh, really?" Nick teased.

"Yes, really," Judy said, narrowing her eyes and leaning in toward her fox.

"And what exactly would exactly would your evidence be this time, fluff?"

"The fact that there's no way the real Nick Wilde would ever be done with any sort of police report an hour early." Judy began slowly walking her fingers up Nick's arm, her eyes half-lidded. "And I don't care how many little surprises you've been pulling lately…" Her paw reached the back of Nick's neck, but as he expected her to pull him in for a kiss, she quickly swiped her finger across his chest and said, "something like this never happens."

"Not even when I'm highly motivated?" Nick replied.

"By what exactly?" Judy asked, teasingly cocking her eyebrow.

"Tell me if this sounds right," Nick replied, leaning against the doorframe. "Devilishly handsome fox starts dating an extremely attractive bunny and has very much enjoyed his time with her over the last few days, and also enjoyed his time with her before the dating game officially started. So far, the best part of any day for him has been spending time with her, especially because not only is she his girlfriend, but also his best friend. So, when he gets into work today, he's very much motivated to get his single assignment done so that he can spend some time with her. Of course, he's also got a little voice in the back of his mind making sure he does a thorough job on his police report so that he's not chewed out by the buffalo at the top of the food chain, which he highly doubts anyone at the Precinct could ever get used to. So really, he would have been done and standing in the doorway about an hour earlier of he wasn't worried about pissing off the mammal about fifteen times his size. But still, he's able to get it done early and without getting trampled to death and still has the energy to put up with his girlfriend's little snarky comments. That sound about right?"

Judy scoffed and punched Nick in the shoulder. "You practice those little speeches, don't you?" she scoffed.

"Oh, yeah," Nick said sarcastically, "I was rehearsing in the car on the way here. Just wanted to make sure it was perfect for my gorgeous bunny."

Judy shook her head before launching herself at her fox, wrapping her arms around him as she made contact and tackling him to the floor. Pinning him to the ground, she pulled back to see Nick's emerald eyes wide open and a surprised, sheepish smile on his face.

"What?" Judy said. "You've been surprising me that last few weeks, so I think it's my turn."

Nick's sheepish smile morphed into a loving one as he chuckled and stroked Judy's cheek with the back of his paw. "Sly bunny," he murmured.

Judy giggled and leaned down to meet his lips. However, they were soon interrupted by a thumping from underneath the hallway floor.

" _Hey, take it to apartment you guys!"_ an all too familiar voice shouted.

Judy buried her face in Nick's chest in exasperation. "You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered.

" _Would you leave the bunny cop alone?!"_ another voice shouted from underneath the floor. _"She and the fox are having a romantic moment!"_

" _Ah, shut up!"_

" _You shut up!"_

" _YOU SHUT UP!"_

" _YOU SHUT UP!"_

Nick was surprised at how loud Bucky and Pronk could actually get, feeling the floor vibrate as they shouted. Looking down at Judy, whose face was still buried in his chest, placed a finger under her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his.

"What do you say we take their advice," Nick said, throwing his eyes toward the apartment. "We've still got about an hour before Scott's expecting us."

Judy smiled and gave Nick a quick peck on the lips before replying, "Let's."

* * *

"So which side is it supposed to be on?" Nick asked as he drove through the coastal neighborhood. Judy glanced down at the Zoogle Maps route on her iCarrot phone.

"It should be on the right side, by the waterline," Judy replied. "Gail told me it's a Cape Cod style house."

"Well, sounds like you're gonna be the one to find it, Carrots," Nick said. "I have no idea what Cape Cod style is."

"Eh, don't worry," Judy said nonchalantly. "I figured as much."

Nick raised an eyebrow to his girlfriend and cast a sarcastic smile at her. "You can be evil at times, you know that fluff?"

"So that was what you call evil?" Judy shot back. "I didn't know foxes were so sensitive."

"Well, aren't you in a snarky mood today?"

"I blame you for it."

Nick took a moment to laugh before saying, "You know I think you might be right there, Carrots."

"Of course, I'm not saying it's bad or anything. I'm just blaming you," Judy retorted.

"And I gladly take pride in my influence on you." Nick reached over and placed a paw on Judy's shoulder. She smiled back at him before turning her eyes back out the window and scanned for Scott's house. Nick slowed the car down a bit to give Judy some extra time to read the addresses. As they cruised down the street, he took a chance to admire the neighborhood. He felt a little envious of the fact that Scott lived in such a nice waterfront community, but at least it wasn't a rich-boy, one-percent type area. The homes were smaller and more modest, their beauty stemming more from their architectural than their size. There was just something about coastal homes that was always attractive.

They continued to crawl along the road when Judy spotted the home that Gail had described in her text message.

"I think this might be it, Nick," Judy said excitedly. She looked at the mailbox that stood on the curb and read the numbers drilled into the wooden post. "732, that's it!"

At that moment, a voice emanated from Judy's iCarrot. _"Turn right to your destination – 732 Colony Street."_

"Thanks for the update, Zoogle Obvious," Nick replied as he pulled up in front of the house.

"Oh, shush," Judy said, pocketing her phone and bounding out of the car. She went to the back seat and grabbed their little contribution to the barbecue, a couple bags of chips and some fresh produce from Judy's parents' farm. She and Nick were both surprised at how much Hopps' Family Farm was picking up. It was certainly a pleasant shock the first time saw her family's brand name in the produce aisle at the local supermarket.

"That everything, fluff?" Nick said.

"Mmhmm," Judy said. "Gail told me Scott was gonna stop by the store for everything else."

Judy led them to the door and rang the bell.

"Pretty nice place," Nick said, admiring the house as they stood at the door. Soon they were greeted by Gail.

"Hey guys!" she said gleefully. "So glad you could make it!" She and Judy quickly wrapped each other in a hug, like two sisters reuniting after college. Gail stepped back to look at Judy's outfit. "Oh my God, that's such a cute shirt," she said.

"Aww, thanks, Gail!" Judy replied. "I love your outfit too!" Gail donned a blue denim shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of tan shorts.

"Why, thank you," Gail cheerfully said. "Glad to see you too, Nick!"

"Great to be here," Nick said, holding out his hand.

Gail smiled and said, "Oh, come on, Nick. Handshakes are for strangers." Judy smiled as Gail pulled Nick in for a brief hug. "Well, why don't you guys come in? Scott just called a couple minutes ago and said he's on his way home."

"Oh awesome!" Judy said as she and Nick stepped through the doorway. "I was afraid were gonna have to wait a while."

They entered the living room and found themselves quite impressed with the interior. They were greeted by warm champagne walls that gave the room a bright and welcoming feel. Judy especially loved the way the color of the walls complimented the hardwood floors, which were made of finished mahogany that alternated between golden honey and nutmeg finish with each plank. Immediately after stepping into the living room, the guests were treated to a stunning view of the harbor as the sunlight reflected off the teal waves and through the bay windows that lined the back of the house. On a day like this, the windows were open wide to let the warm, sweet sea breeze flow through the house.

"Wow, you guys have an amazing place!" Judy said. "I love the view!"

"I'm glad you like it," Gail said happily. "Well, come on in," she said, motioning them to come in further. "You can set your stuff on the counter here."

"Sure thing," Judy replied. She and Nick entered further into the house, as they took in the surroundings. As Nick surveyed the home, he noticed three frames hanging above the fireplace, each one containing what appeared to be an old sheet of parchment. He smirked as he read the titles.

"Guess Scott really live his profession, doesn't he?" Nick said.

"Hmm?" Gail replied. She looked over toward Nick to see him staring at the three frames lined up above the fireplace. The first was the Declaration of Independence, the second was the United States Constitution, and the third was the first draft of the Bill of Rights. "Oh, yeah," Gail laughed. "If you think that's any indication of his work ethic, you guys should have come over before I made him build an extra bookshelf in his office."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding!" Judy laughed. "He had his book collection in the living room?"

"Well, not all of it, but enough for it to be a bit of an eyesore."

"He sure hasn't changed a whole lot, has he?" Judy jested.

"Not one bit," Gail replied, causing both ladies to giggle.

"Looks like he also has an…interesting taste in motivational posters," Nick said.

"Why's that?" Judy asked.

"Because of that." Nick pointed to a frame hanging on the wall near them that held a sheet of white paper. Typed in large blue letters, the sheet read,

 _If you cheat,  
you suck,  
I will catch you,  
and you will pay._

 _Dr. Litton_

"That's, um…huh," Judy said as she read the framed quote. "Never heard that one before."

"Yeah, I think I'll let Scott explain that one," Gail said.

"Explain what?" the group heard from the entryway, the voice accompanied by the door front door shutting and random jingling sound of car keys being placed in the hook by the front door. They saw Scott round the corner of the entryway with a bag of charcoal in his paw. The trio greeted him as he entered the living room, Judy and Gail with wide smiles and Nick with his signature smooth grin. Scott took on a wide smile of his own, though Nick could read his face and knew that there was a hint of mischief in it.

"I was kidding! I didn't actually want you guys over!" Scott joked, causing Gail to roll her eyes and Judy and Nick laugh along.

Still smiling brightly, he walked toward the group, taking a brief hug from Judy and shaking paws with Nick. "Glad you guys were able to make it," he said.

"Made sure to finish that report early just for the occasion," Nick quipped as he winked at Judy. She blushed and jabbed Nick with her elbow as he and Scott exchanged smirks.

"Oh, God, now there's two of them," Gail jibed while she shook her head at the two males.

"Well, what's that old phrase again? Umm…'buyer beware'?" Scott replied.

Gail stepped forward and gave him a shove on his shoulder. "My husband, the joker," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Scott merely shrugged and planted a peck on her cheek before setting down the bag of charcoal on the counter.

"You need any help with groceries?" Judy asked.

"Eh, wouldn't mind," Scott replied and they headed out to the car to unload the trunk. "So what time did you finish that report?" Scott asked Nick.

"About 9:30," Nick said. "And Wolfram and Clawson each owe me twenty bucks."

"Why's that?"

"I might have placed a bet on how fast I could get it done without the chief trampling me to death," Nick said proudly.

"Your schemes are never gonna come to an end, are they?" Judy prodded.

"Hey, I didn't hustle anyone, sweetheart," Nick replied, "but to answer your question, I doubt anytime soon." He gave a sudden yelp as Judy's foot came down on his tail.

"Oops," Judy said, a smirk on her face and eyes half lidded, "sorry." As they continued toward the car, Nick pushed her forward with his tail, causing her to stumble.

"We just started dating. Can you tell?" Nick jested.

Scott and Gail laughed as Nick grabbed Judy around the waist and kissed her head, a gesture she quickly rewarded with a kiss on his cheek. They all started unloading the trunk as Gail kept the conversation rolling.

"So I guess your dad didn't have any debates ready for you today, huh honey?" she asked Scott.

"Surprisingly not," Scott said. "Only explanation I can think of is that the Zootopia Times forgot to print the political section for the month."

"He's really that bad?" Nick asked.

"Oh, you have two eyewitnesses who can attest to that," Scott said, pointing to Judy and Gail.

"Yeah, he was pretty bad," Judy said.

"Yeah, but you weren't the one whose boyfriend forgot to tell her before she went to the house to meet the parents," Gail said to Judy.

"You're really not saying he put you ladies in the hot seat," Nick asked incredulously.

"No, of course not," Judy laughed, "but the dinner table was more like watching a political debate."

"And the first dinner at the house, I had my boyfriend stolen for about an hour after dinner ended," Gail added.

"Yeah, maybe I should apologize for that," Scott said.

"Yeah, ya think?" Gail playfully chided.

"...for only the twenty fifth time," Scott said, "I think. I don't know, I lost count after about twenty-three."

Gail and Judy shared a glance at each other. "Welcome to my world, honey," Gail said.

"You know," Scott said as they started heading back to the house, "while my dad never had the best timing, I really did enjoy those debates. I just thought they'd stop after I passed the Bar Exam."

"Maybe he just decided to be merciful today," Nick said.

"Believe it or not, that explanation's actually too far-fetched," Scott laughed. Nick began chuckling along with him. Judy looked back at the two of them, happy to see them laughing together and enjoying each other. They walked back inside and set the groceries on the kitchen counter. As they were unloading them, Scott pulled out a case of six twenty-two ounce bottles.

"You drink beer, right Nick?" he asked.

"Yeah, I drink it sometimes," Nick answered.

"Well, I think you might like this stuff here. This brewery is actually owned by an old friend of mine from high school and he makes a really great Scottish ale. Nice and smooth, not too bitter."

"Sounds pretty good," Nick said. Scott went to retrieve a couple of weizen beer glasses from the cupboard while Nick took out one of the bottle and inspected the label.

"Hops and Robbers Brewing Company?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow. Scott laughed as he set the glasses on the counter.

"Yeah, Casey was sort of the bad-pun mammal of our little group," Scott said. "Uh, you want a chilled glass or on the rocks?"

"Chilled glass for me," Nick said.

Scott smiled approvingly before rinsing the glasses, filling them with crushed ice and swirling it around in each glass, and placing them in the freezer. While Scott worked his bartender routine, Judy brought up the subject they were on when he walked through the door.

"So, Scott," she said, "Nick and I were wondering what this quote is from."

"What quote?" Scott asked as he closed the freezer door. He looked to see that she was looking at the frame on the wall. "Ah, that one," he said. "That is a quote from one of my professors from pre-law, Dr. Chad Litton. That was his class cheating policy."

"Sounds like he was a hard grader," Nick quipped.

"Only if you took his class as a blow-off. For the rest of us, he was one of the best. At the beginning of every semester he recited that policy, but it was always in a way that it built on itself. So his speech always went, 'If you cheat, you suck. If you cheat, you suck, and I will catch you. If you cheat, you suck, I will catch you, and you will pay.'"

"Sounds a little intimidating for a professor," Judy said.

"Yeah, I will admit that it was a little unnerving to hear a professor say, 'you suck,'" Scott replied.

"So, just curious, why's it in a frame on your wall?" Nick asked.

Scott smiled and said, "Honestly, I don't know why, but that policy always stuck with me. That and at the end of law school it kind of came full circle."

"What do you mean by that?" Nick asked.

"Well, when we started the Bar Exam, each person was given a private testing room. And when they take you inside, they give you a rundown of how the test is given, how you're supposed to answer the questions, et cetera. So, first off, when I was took the Bar Exam, my testing instructor was actually Dr. Litton. So, we had a quick little reunion before he took me into the testing room. He gave me the rundown and then the last thing he did was show me that the room had four cameras in the corners, and these were really good cameras. They could actually zoom in on the computer screen to see if you were bringing up any other websites for information, which would be cheating."

"Wait, you guys had computers during the test?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, the test was taken online. There was a law passed back in 2008 that changed the way the Bar Exam was given, and one of the things was that the questions went from multiple choice to short answer questions. So along with that, they kind of realized that short answer questions would take too much time to write out by hand, so the test was typed."

"Huh. I hope that little detail isn't common knowledge, or I feel really stupid."

Scott chuckled and said, "Nah, don't worry about it. I didn't know either until the day before. So anyway, uh, where was I? Oh yeah, so Dr. Litton pointed out the cameras and told me how they can zoom in on the screen and that they weren't there for show. Right after that, he told me to recite his cheating policy. 'If I cheat, I suck, you will catch me, and I will pay.'"

Nick and Scott laughed together at the little memory. "Geez, no pressure there, huh?" Nick said.

"No kidding," Scott said, "but the thing is it was kind of a nice little moment in weird way. I started pre-law with Dr. Litton giving us that policy and there I was reciting it back to him before taking the Bar Exam. So, yeah, it's like it came full circle."

"And now it's immortalized on your wall, huh?"

"Well, actually that frame's just a placeholder until the plaque gets here." The two of them started chuckling again and Judy cracked a smile at their banter.

"I really hope you're joking about that," Gail said, though she couldn't hide the smile on her own face.

"I guess you'll find out in three to five business days," Scott retorted, earning him a whip from his wife, using a spare rag conveniently laying on the counter for her.

She laughed, kissed him on the cheek and said, "You know, I think you should have come with a waiver."

"I did," Scott said. "It's called a wedding ring."

Gail turned to her husband, trying to glare at him, but failing at her attempt due to her admitted amusement at his little witticisms. Judy couldn't keep herself from giggling either, nor from a nice warm tingle in her stomach as she saw Nick laughing along with them. Those two were a lot alike from what Judy could see. If nothing else, they had an almost identical sense of humor.

"Why don't you and Nick go get the charcoal going?" Gail said. "Judy and I can help get things ready in here."

"Yes, ma'am," Scott chuckled as he grabbed the two beer glasses from the freezer and a bottle of beer from the fridge. Filling each one so that the foam head just reached the rim, he handed a glass to Nick. Grabbing the bag of charcoal, Scott nodded his head and the two of them headed out to the back.

"So, is Nick like that a lot?" Gail asked Judy.

"You said it yourself," Judy replied. "'There's two of them.'"

"Honestly, what were we thinking when we started dating them?"

"I doubt we were thinking at all." They looked outside at their boys to see them standing by the grill, laughing together and having fun. "I'm not saying that's a bad thing though," Judy said.

"Yeah, they may be idiots," Gail said, "but they're _our_ idiots."

* * *

1) Spoof of MSNBC News  
2) Spoof of FOX News  
3) Zootopia version of _Tangled_. It's one of the bootlegged DVDs being sold by Duke Weaselton in the movie  
4) Zootopia version of _The Walking Dead_


End file.
